The Twilight War - Part 1: Ghosts
by Boskov01
Summary: A year after the fall of the Defenders of Man, Nova Terra finds herself caught up trying to identify and prevent a deadly terrorist plot against the Dominion by the newly formed Angels of Tarsonis under the leadership of the enigmatic Angel. Now Nova must find allies and rebuild her forces to prevent disaster from occurring!
1. Daylight Robbery

**Summary:** A year after the fall of the Defenders of Man, Nova Terra finds herself caught up trying to identify and prevent a deadly terrorist plot against the Dominion by the newly formed Angels of Tarsonis under the leadership of the enigmatic Angel. Now Nova must find allies and rebuild her forces to prevent disaster from occurring!

 **Disclaimer:** I own only a few characters but little else. Everything else is owned by Blizzard Entertainment.

 **A/N:** Blizzard games hold a particular soft spot in my heart. The first RTS game I ever played was WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness. I loved it so much that I got StarCraft not long after it came out and I've been a fan ever since. I got to thinking about what Nova's story would be after the events of the Nova Covert Ops missions and this story gradually formed in my mind. The End War against Amon is over but as the Defenders of Man proved, there are still threats to galactic peace and plenty of loose ends left unaccounted for.

Timeline wise, this story takes place a year after the Covert Ops missions which takes place in 2508. Just as a quick recap for those who don't know the timeline of the StarCraft games…

The SC1 campaigns, colloquially known as the Great War took place in 2499-2500. StarCraft Brood War took place in 2500. StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm (the Second Great War) took place in 2504 and 2505 respectively. Legacy of the Void (The End War) took place in 2506. And as stated, Nova Covert Ops (the Defenders of Man Incident) took place in 2508. This story takes place in 2509. We're ignoring the established canon that comes after 2509 since it's largely irrelevant to the story and wouldn't have happened yet anyway.

 **StarCraft Enthusiasts Please Note:** This story is being written from a lore perspective, not gameplay. For example, it takes multiple missiles from a missile turret to kill a Mutalisk in game. In this it takes only one with a direct hit, maybe two depending on how strong the carapace is. So, ignore gameplay factors in this.

One more thing, there will likely be some crossover with other Blizzard Titles such as WarCraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and even Heroes of the Storm. You'll likely see what I mean as the story progresses. Some will be clever references while others will be more overt such as Sgt. Hammer or Lt. Morales.

So with that said, enjoy…

* * *

 **City of Raynor, Mar Sara Colony  
December 12th, 2509  
12:23 PM**

The City of Raynor was the first settlement on Mar Sara after its second purification during the Second Great War. It was named after Mar Sara's local hero: James E. Raynor, and a statue of him astride his Vulture sat out front the City Hall/Command Center. The city was not only the colony's first settlement but also its largest city while small towns and farms dotted the wasteland.

However, the otherwise sleepy city was not to sleep for long today as, outside the First Dominion Bank, a pair of illegally modified Vultures followed by a customized civilian cargo truck, all three in black, roared up to the bank entrance, the vulture drivers whooping and hollering, firing semi-automatic pistols into the air. The drivers holstered their pistols and grabbed the SMGs and assault rifles they carried, charging into the bank through the front doors, firing off several rounds into the air, the civilians and bank workers ducking for cover out of fear.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen! No reason to be afraid unless someone decides to be a hero, then in that case, be afraid!" one of the criminals yelled into the room, as two more of his gang came running in followed closely by a fully suited Marauder.

"Now here's how this is going to work people! We here you've got a surplus of raw minerals and credits in stock here so we're here to take that surplus off your hands! Oh, and same goes for any valuables you might have, so wallets, jewelry, purses, credit chips, everything goes in the bags!" the crook yelled as he waved his gun around, two of his goons moving in with empty sacks towards the cowering customers and employees, beginning to collect their valuables, while the other stood watch with an assault rifle. The lead goon then turned towards the Marauder.

"Get to work on the safe. Make it fast." The crook said as the Marauder gave a nod.

"Oh, it's on." The Marauder said as he lumbered towards the wall safe, the lead goon following after him. The Marauder raised his right arm, aiming it at the safe before firing off one of his K12 "Punishers," at the safe door. The blast caused many of the civilians to start screaming in fear. The first blast put a light dent in the door.

"Pipe down or you'll be put against the wall!" one of the crooks yelled at the crowd, silencing them.

"Again! Keep firing until we crack it!" the lead crook ordered, the Marauder chuckling darkly.

"Don't need to tell me twice." The Maruader said, raising both arms towards the vault, starting to fire at the vault at a steady rate. As the two crooks collecting the valuables moved around the room, and with the lead crook and Marauder distracted, the fourth was left to patrol, keeping a look out for trouble. He then noticed something strange moving nearby, a strange distortion near one of the counters that had the various bank slips for the customers, complete with the pens on the little chains. As he approached, the distortion suddenly vanished.

"What the-?" he asked softly to himself. One of the civilians, a young girl with a plush purple Zergling clutched to her chest looked at the goon as he investigated. Suddenly he staggered upright before his head spun unnaturally to the right with a sickening crack that was muffled by the explosions from the vault door. The girl gasped in fear and alarm as the crook was mysteriously dragged behind the counter, out of sight from the others.

"Mama, the man, he fell over." She said, not quite understanding what had happened.

"Shh, quiet honey." Her mother whispered.

"Hey! No talking!" one of the crooks with the bags ordered, shoving his SMG in their faces, the two holding each other close in fear.

"Yeah, that's right, keep quiet or you'll be-gah-muph!" the crook screamed but it sounded like his mouth was being muffled as he struggled against an unseen force. His neck was suddenly snapped and he fell limp to the ground, landing behind another counter, out of sight of his partners, his body landing at the same time as another explosion from the Marauder so it went unnoticed.

"Gah, this vault's thicker than anticipated!" the lead crook groaned as the Marauder let out a noticeable sigh through his suit's speakers.

"Time's a wastin'." The marauder said as the crook groaned and started to turn away from the vault.

"Why does every Marauder I know say tha-…wait a minute, where's Jimbo and Louie?" the crook asked as the third crook, stopped and looked around, confused.

"I dunno, they were just here a second ago, boss!" the third said as the boss raised his rifle, cocking it.

"Somethin' ain't right. Keep your eyes peeled, somethin' fishy is goin' on around here." The boss commented as he started looking around. The Marauder stepped away from the vault, his grenade launchers loaded and ready to fire again as they swept the room. The third goon then found the other bag goon lying dead on the ground.

"Holy hell! Louie!" he exclaimed, dropping to one knee to check for a pulse, the Boss rushing to him while the Marauder looked around with both arms raised. The goon looked up at the boss, a look of disbelief on his face.

"He's dead, neck's snapped." The goon said as the boss looked their hostages over, each of them looking confused but fearful.

"This is professional. I've seen this before." The boss said as he turned away, listening closely but all he heard was the metallic thumping of the Marauder's feet as it walked around, looking for a trace of the intruder.

"What is it, boss?" the remaining goon asked as the boss swallowed in fear.

"Ghost." He muttered before hearing a thud behind him, he spun around with his gun raised but saw nothing. He looked down and saw the third goon slumped over on the floor, blood running from a fresh through-and-through hole in the side of his cranium.

"Mother mercy." The boss hissed as he cocked his rifle, sweat running down his brow as he backed up towards the marauder in fear.

"Damn it, head for the car, we're bugging out." The goon said before he heard a loud metallic pinging sound behind him. He spun around in time to see the Marauder lower his arms, swaying a little before dropping to its knees and falling to the floor, blood starting to flow from a hole in the Marauder's helmet.

"Oh hell." He said before hearing an electronic hissing sound behind him. He instinctively dropped his rifle, raising his hand in surrender as he dropped to his knees. He then felt the metal ring of a C-20A Canister Rifle pressed against his neck.

"That side-arm you're thinking about reaching for, forget it." A woman's voice said. The Boss's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before narrowing.

"Damn telepaths." He muttered as a pair of fully armored Spec. Ops Marines entered with their rifles trained on the Boss. On their shoulder plates was their original Special Operations decal but with a Hawk insignia emblazoned behind it.

"Area's secured, commander. We've got it from here." One of the marines said. The Ghost, a blonde haired woman in the skin-tight hostile environment suit of a Terran Ghost shouldered her rifle, pulling the goggles up from over her eyes.

"Good. Make sure the hostages get their belongings returned and take whatever arms these crooks brought with them. Vultures and the Marauder too. Probably could salvage some of its equipment." Nova ordered as one of the Marines saluted.

"Got it." The marine replied as Nova started out of bank, putting a hand to her earpiece.

"Nova to Griffin. Targets eliminated or in custody. Mission accomplished." Nova said into the earpiece.

" _Great job out there, Chief. Reigel's already at the Magistrate's office. He's reported your success and the Magistrate wants to meet."_ A young woman's voice replied. Nova took a breath and looked down the street towards where the nearby Dominion base was located, the City Hall/Command Center sitting right smack in the center of it.

"Thanks for the update, Corporal. Let Reigel know I'm on my way." Nova said into her earpiece, eyeing one of the criminal's vultures.

" _Way ahead of you, Chief. Our SCVs just got the mineral and vespene shipment from the colonists. Should we start the repairs?"_ the Corporal asked.

"No. We'll start repairs when we arrive on Deadman's Rock. Go ahead and start the preflight checks, we'll leave as soon as we're all aboard." Nova replied.

" _Araso! Wheels can go up in thirty minutes, Chief."_ The Corporal said as Nova climbed onto the vulture, starting it up. The vulture was already hotwired by its previous owner so she didn't have to do it a second time.

"Keep the engines running, Song. Nova out." Nova replied before veering the Vulture away from the bank and towards the base.

…

 **Magistrate's Office, Raynor City Hall/Command Center  
Ten minutes later.**

Nova emerged from the elevator into the office of the Colony's Magistrate. The Magistrate was a man in his early forties with a neatly kept beard and goatee with connecting sideburns. He wore an old military uniform with a few medals native to both the Dominion and even the old Confederacy. He stood by an old audio emitter playing a recording of American Trilogy. Reigel stood nearby with his hands behind his back as Nova approached. The Magistrate then turned towards her with a smile of relief on his face.

"Ah, there she is. Ms. Terra, on behalf of the people of Mar Sara, I thank you for your efforts in eradicatin' that filth for us." The Magistrate said in a typical drawl as Nova slid her rifle off her shoulder, setting it down, butt first on the ground and leaning slightly on the barrel.

"It wasn't easy. Took some work to extract the information on their next hit from one of their flunkies. Once we knew where they would hit, it was a simple matter of lying in wait and taking them down one by one." Nova explained as the Magistrate chuckled, pushing an open box of cigars towards her but she shook her head in polite refusal.

"Well now, the last time I heard of someone operatin' the way you do, he got made Marshal of these here parts. Of course, we all know how that turned out. Got a whole damn town named after him." The Magistrate said, smiling fondly at a photograph on the wall of his younger self standing next to Jim Raynor, circa the Great War. Raynor was still wearing his Confederate Marshal's badge in the photograph but there were Sons of Korhal Dropships in the background. The Magistrate then turned towards Nova and was about to say something but Nova raised a hand, signaling to stop.

"I'm not interested in becoming your new Marshal. I understand the Dominion's sending a new one anyway. Should be here any minute." Nova said before looking over her shoulder at Reigel, motioning towards the door with her head. Reigel understood the signal and gave a nod, heading for the elevator.

"Ah, telepaths. Heh. You remind me of the first Ghost I ever met. Didn't turn out too well for her though…well…at least at first." The Magistrate said as Nova shouldered her rifle.

"We appreciate the minerals, gas, and supplies. That, plus the arms and equipment that we've taken off the Junkrats, are adequate to cover our fees." Nova said as the Magistrate gave a nod and a slight bow.

"And we appreciate the restoration of law and order you've given us in return, Ms. Terra. If ever you need a place to lay low, you can expect the Mar Sara Militia to turn a blind eye to your presence. We have a reputation for standin' up for the folk who fight the good fight." The Magistrate said as Nova smirked slightly.

"If only the fight of me and my crew were so good. For us, it's just survival." Nova said but the Magistrate wasn't convinced.

"My dear, survival is just as good a fight as any. Now I don't know about you, but I'd skedaddle before the new Marshal arrives. His ship arrives in the system twenty minutes from now. Don't want you gettin' caught in the noose." The Magistrate said as Nova backed away into the elevator.

"We'll keep in touch, Magistrate." Nova said before the doors closed.

…

 **Griffin – Bridge  
Mar Sara Surface  
Fifteen Minutes Later**

Nova and Reigel emerged onto the bridge just as proximity alarms started going off.

"It's about time you showed up! Dominion Battlecruiser just dropped out of warp in high orbit! Dropship with Viking escort inbound for the surface! Trajectory indicates they're heading for the Capital!" a young Terran female said from one of the forward consoles. The woman had long brown hair and wore a green Goliath Pilot jumpsuit but she wore a small headset. Her facial features were distinctly Asian in origin.

"Have they detected us, Corporal?" Nova asked but the girl gave her a cocky glare in exchange.

"I raised the cloaking field after you came on board. So far, no sign that we've been made. We've done this, like a million times! They've never detected us before." the Corporal argued.

"Then get us flying, and off world before they break our streak." Nova ordered. The Corporal smirked and cracked her knuckles.

" _Nal-la-gan-da!_ All hands, standby for takeoff!" the Corporal said into her headset as the station alarms started going off, the crew scrambling to their stations. The Griffin started to shake as its engines fired up, raising up off the ground before suddenly starting to rocket forward, headed for the atmosphere. To anyone standing outside though, all they could see with the naked eye was a large cloud of dust and hear a deafening roar of the engines.

"Battlecruiser is maintaining course. Looks like they didn't notice us." The Corporal reported.

"As long as we keep out of range of those missile towers, they won't notice us." Reigel added.

"Oh those have been offline for 'scheduled maintenance' for about an hour. Magistrate ordered it I think." The Corporal reported as the Griffin started to break atmosphere.

"The Magistrate of Mar Sara's got a reputation for playing fast and loose with the rules so long as it benefits his people. He's a good leader." Nova said before turning to Reigel.

"Alright, as soon as we're out of sensor range, we make the jump to Deadman's Rock. Signal Graven, let him know our job on Mar Sara is done. Ask him for a meet up to discuss new job opportunities. Corporal, as soon as we're away, I want to know what our status is." Nova said as the Corporal picked up a tablet off her console, holding it up for the Ghost but Reigel was closer and took the report.

"Already ahead of you. Everything's here in the notes." The Corporal said as Reigel looked it over.

"We have enough minerals to make our usual repairs and maintenance with enough leftover to produce a few replacement SCVs and replenish some of our arms and ammunition. Our Vespene stores will give us the fuel we need to keep flying for roughly two more weeks before needing to resupply. Our supplies will last us two more weeks after that. The small arms we took from the Junkrats are being inventoried but the ammunition packs we took off of them are compatible with the P-38s for our Reapers. The Maruader's 5-4 armor is being stripped for parts. The previous occupant left some bio-waste behind, rendering the suit unsafe." Reigel explained as Nova rolled her eyes.

"Wonderful. First time we might've been able to field a Marauder in months and the previous operator didn't maintain the septic systems in it." Nova grumbled.

"Well, we at least have a few punisher grenades in stock for when we can field them." Reigel said as Nova slung her rifle over her shoulder.

"Whenever that may be." Nova muttered as she started for the back. Reigel let out a slight sigh through his nose, feeling helpless to help the former Ghost overcome her melancholy.

"Chief's really bummed out right now, huh?" the Corporal asked, not taking her eyes off the screens.

"It's been almost a year since we became fugitives from the Dominion. We've lost people, equipment, every day our situation seems worse and worse. And Nova blames herself for it." Reigel said as the Corporal looked over her shoulder at him.

"It's not so bad, I mean you have gained people, like me for instance." The Corporal said with a cheery grin. Reigel smiled slightly.

"Yes but in doing so, you too are a fugitive from your people now. I doubt the Umojans will be any more forgiving for your stealing a Goliath and going rogue." Reigel said as the Corporal shrugged.

"We didn't have a good synergy. Besides, micromanaging a base safe and sound within Umojan space was boring. My APM was sadness. It's much more exciting here though." The Corporal replied as Reigel chuckled slightly.

"Still, you might feel comfortable here, but the Commander doesn't." Reigel said, looking back towards the doors.

…

 **Graven's Hollow – Deadman's Port  
Deadman's Rock  
8:32 PM – Local Time**

Graven's Hollow was a district of the criminal and lawless Deadman's Port owned and run wholly by the mercenary recruiter Graven Hill. Here he maintained his own base not too far from the base run by Mira Han. It used to be the area occupied by Colonel Orlan before Mira and Raynor's Raiders teamed up to bring him down. Now Graven ran the area. The Griffin started to touch down in one of the many makeshift landing areas near the base, a squad of the Griffin's Marines disembarking and setting up a security perimeter to keep any scavengers or other mercs away from the ship. Nova, Reigel, and Corporal  
Song disembarked close behind.

"Graven said he's not at his base. He's at his club in the Moonguard District." Corporal Song reported as Nova scowled.

"Goldshire's. I always feel the need to cloak through that place." Nova muttered as one of the Griffin's technicians pushed one of the impounded Vultures down the boarding ramp for her.

"We'll see if we can find more supplies and resources. We'll get the SCVs on the repairs as well." Reigel said as Nova mounted the bike, pulling the goggles over her eyes, revving the bike's engines.

"And I'll see if we can find some work worth a damn." Nova replied before riding off into town, leaving the Griffin and its crew behind.

…

 **Goldshire's Gentleman's Club – Moonguard District – Deadman's Port  
Deadman's Rock  
20 Minutes Later**

Goldshire's was one of the seediest places on Deadman's Rock. It was a strip club, bar, and brothel rolled into one and built into a refurbished First Great War era Command Center. Nova regularly cloaked and made her way into the club, passing through the repurposed Command Bay where the bar and at least four stages with dancing polls were set up, scantily clad Terran women doing their thing while the crowd of patrons cheered and threw credit chips at the women. Nova wasn't particularly repulsed by the sights but didn't favor them either, instead just cloaking and making her way through to the elevator where a fully armored Marine stood guard. She then decloaked in front of him, the Marine not acting particularly surprised to see her.

"Oh, Terra. Go on in. Boss is expecting you." The Marine said as Nova gave a quiet nod, stepping into the elevator. It was a slow ride up to the Observation Deck/Commander's Office. This was where Graven operated his businesses the most often although he had at least two secondary locations he could work from. The elevator doors opened and Nova stepped out into Graven's office where Graven sat with a scantily clad Terran woman on his lap. The woman had artificially pigmented her skin in a shade of purple, dyed her hair green, had glowing white contact lenses in her eyes, and had gotten her ears artificially elongated. Graven noticed Nova's arrival and smirked at her briefly before looking back at the woman on his lap.

"Right, well, I think you'll make a good show. I'll talk to Dave. Get you scheduled." Graven said as the woman stood up off his lap, blowing him a kiss as she sashayed out of the office. Nova could read her thoughts and rolled her eyes as she passed.

"Part of a new fad that's sweeping some of the Dominion youth. They call it Nelfing. They get their skin pigmented in shades of purple, get their ears elongated, and make themselves look like elves from some fantasy universe. Goes over really well with the customers." Graven chuckled as Nova looked at him.

"I thought it was called Belfing." Nova commented.

"Same idea except Belfing doesn't involve skin pigmentation. But enough about pleasure, let's get down to business. I take it you've seen the news reports out of Mar Sara?" Graven asked, turning a monitor hanging overhead around towards her, the monitor showing a UNN news report with Kate Lockwell reporting on the recent capture of the Junkrats Mercenary Gang on Mar Sara.

"What's the story?" Nova asked.

"Junkrat himself is pissed. You took down his squad on Mar Sara. He was looking forward to becoming the de-facto ruler of the colony but you kinda interfered. Good news is, he doesn't know it was you. News claims it was the local militia that stopped him. No mention of a Ghost." Graven explained as Nova smirked.

"That's how we like to keep it." Nova said as Graven chuckled.

"Maybe but it doesn't exactly help you build a rep. I mean you and I know the truth, but your rep doesn't change and a mediocre rep doesn't help with the job offers. Speaking of which, I've got four for you that might interest you." Graven said, spreading four tablets across his desk in front of him. Nova picked up one and started to look it over.

"Forsaken Force offering one hundred grand to partner on raid of Dominion Resear-. No way. We don't go up against the Dominion, and you keep pushing this same job. Is this Forsaken Force having that hard a time with this job?" Nova asked as Graven shrugged.

"Job's been posted for about a month, only a few takers but everyone who's gotten involved has never come back alive. The target research facility hasn't reported any break-ins either so odds are that the takers don't even make it to the facility." Graven said as Nova discarded the tablet and picked up another.

"I really don't care if they do or not. My crew and I don't fight the Dominion." Nova said, scanning over the tablet before discarding it and picking up another.

"Your call, but you're making it harder on yourself. A lot of the high paying jobs involve crossing the Dominion in some way." Graven said as Nova discarded the third tablet.

"We'll manage. Isn't there anything that doesn't involve crossing the Dominion?" Nova asked. Graven merely smirked at her, pushing forward the fourth tablet.

"Saved this one especially for you. Dominion Black Ops team dispatched to Athena. It's a jungle planet near Cavir. Largely uninhabited but reports mention a Feral Zerg hive. Intercepted the transmission using Orlan's old comm-sat station." Graven said as Nova looked the tablet over. She then saw something that made her pause, a look of concern on her face.

"Black marked." She muttered.

"Meaning?" Graven asked, confused.

"The team they deployed, they've been black marked so if they call for back-up or extraction, Dominion Forces aren't allowed to respond. Instead they deny they ever existed or the claim they operated without orders from Command." Nova said as Graven sat back in his chair.

"Deniability. Sounds rough. Would hate to be those guys right now." Graven said as Nova lowered the tablet, looking at him.

"Dominion's not offering any rewards are they?" Nova asked.

"No, but you have mentioned that you've needed more manpower. That team, if things go sideways, will effectively be out of a job. Might be able to add a few extra hands to your crew of…what do you call them, the Nighthawks?" Graven asked as Nova gave a nod.

"That's right. And thanks, Graven. Keep your ears open for any other jobs, even if they aren't high paying. So long as they don't cross swords with the Dominion, we'll take it." Nova said before turning and heading for the elevator.

"A pleasure doing business with you, as always." Graven said as his eyes went towards Nova's rear, admiring how her suit fit her. Nova could hear his thoughts but ignored them, only rolling her eyes.

"And Graven. I wouldn't hire the Nelf. She's…let's just say she's infested." Nova said as Graven scowled.

"Noted." Graven said, picking up a pistol and making sure it was loaded as Nova stepped into the elevator.

…

 **Griffin - Bridge  
Athena High Orbit  
10:31 PM, Shipboard Time**

Nova and Reigel stood on the bridge of the Griffin, looking out towards the jungle planet before them. Corporal Song sat at the helm controls, taking readings of the surface.

"Atmosphere is rated safe for humans, picking up a few small Zerg Hive Clusters but they seem Feral and far away from our landing zone." Corporal Song reported.

"Any sign of the Black Ops team?" Nova asked.

"None yet but I am picking up residual exhaust in the upper atmosphere. They arrived maybe an hour ago by my estimates." Song replied as Nova narrowed her eyes towards the planet.

"Take us in quietly. Keep comm channels open on the known Dominion Covert Channels." Nova said as they heard the Griffin's cloaking field activating.

"I'm not picking up anything on the Dominion channels but…that's interesting." Reigel said as he put a headset to his right ear.

"What is it?" Nova asked.

"I'm picking up a signal on channel R945." Reigel reported as Nova and Song both looked towards him.

"R945? But that's an old pirate channel." Song replied but Nova had a disturbed look on her face.

"Not just any channel, it's the one used by Raynor's Raiders before they dissolved! What are they saying?" Nova asked as Reigel pressed a button, allowing a static garbled transmission to start playing through the bridge speakers.

" _Mayday-mayday! This is (garbled) pinned down by Zerg! Repeat we are pinned down by Zerg in sector Phi-Delta-Foxtrot-32! Need immediate evac!"_ a man's voice yelled into the radio.

"Can we respond?" Nova asked as Reigel gave a nod.

"Channel open." Reigel said as Nova stepped up to the console which displayed a waveform of the incoming signal.

"This is Agent X41822N, we've received your transmission and we're coming in to assist. Standby for extraction." Nova said. She waited for a response but got nothing but dead air.

"We just lost the signal, but we've got a lock on their location! Still picking up Terran life signs and a few Zerg!" Song replied.

"Terrain scans show two possible paths from our landing area. Long path is along a cliff edge and seems fairly clear. Short path runs near a small Hive Cluster." Reigel reported as Nova gave a nod

"Song! Alert the Reaper team! We'll be able to cross the distance a lot faster with them than the Marines and Vultures. I'm suiting up." Nova said as Reigel gave a nod.

…

 **Black Ops Landing Area  
Athena  
Five Minutes Later**

The Black Ops team was practically wiped out. Only two Special Operations Marines stood defending the burning remains of their dropship. The corpses of three other Covert Ops Marines, two Marauders, and a Ghost lay around them. The two Marines were holding their ground as Feral Zerglings came charging at them, getting gunned down with relative ease by the Marines. One of the Marines though was wearing a visibly older model of the CMC armor, the armor being all black with teal shoulder plating but using the modern variant of the C-14 Rifle.

"Sergeant, on your right!" the Marine in the older armor yelled as the other Marine turned and fired at an approaching Zergling, killing it just as it attempted to pounce at him.

"There's too many of them, Cap! When's evac coming?!" the Sergeant asked over the gunfire. The Captain looked towards him briefly before answering.

"They'll get here soon." The Captain lied, knowing that no such rescue was coming.

"Good, because we've gotta get this intel to Command, otherwise we're fu-OUGH!" the Marine cried out just as a Hydralisk spine smashed through his helmet visor, killing him instantly.

"Mother mercy!" the Captain yelped as he ducked down behind his cover, blind firing over the cover at the Zerg before taking a breath.

"Well…so this is how it ends." The Captain said softly. He was about to leap up from behind his cover for a final heroic charge when he heard gunfire coming from nearby.

"What in the-…" the Captain asked as he popped out of cover in time to see a squad of Covert Ops Reapers descending from a nearby cliff, firing their guns at the attacking Zerg, a certain blonde Ghost on a jump-pack of her own leading the charge with her C-20A in hand. The Marine stood in quiet awe as the Zerg were gunned down, the Ghost rocketing towards him and sliding to a stop.

"Someone call for an exterminator?" Nova asked as she raised her visor.

"You?" he asked softly. Nova immediately tried to read his thoughts and for a brief moment she saw Tarsonis, a large tower, the back of a blonde haired woman, but suddenly his thoughts became shielded, as if something cut her off. Playing it calm, she rested her rifle on her shoulder while the Reapers took up a defensive position, one of them checking for survivors.

"We got your distress call. We're here to extract you." Nova said as the Captain remained silent for a moment. His visor then opened with a hiss, revealing a man in his mid-twenties with short brown hair, a stubble beard, and an otherwise clean cut appearance.

"We weren't supposed to get extraction if our ship got destroyed. But then, you probably know that Agent X41822N. Real name: November Terra." The Captain said as Nova narrowed her eyes. She tightened the grip on her gun and her Nighthawk Reapers were all staring at him, their guns in hand.

"So you know who I am." She said, the Captain giving a nod before tossing aside his rifle.

"Captain Miles Kunis. Dominion Special Operations. Call me Ace, ma'am." The Captain said with a salute.

"That didn't answer my question, Captain." Nova said as the Captain gave a nod.

"Ma'am, the whole Dominion Special Ops. Division knows who you are. We know the story of what went down between you and General Davis. We're all on your side morally, but legally, we have orders to treat you as a rogue agent. You know what that means, right?" Miles asked before noticing several blue targeting lasers shimmering across his armor. He looked and saw the Nighthawk Reapers training their pistols on him.

"Oh put those guns down boys, I'm not going to do a damn thing, not to the Commander or to you." The Captain said without a hint of fear. The Reapers looked at each other as Nova smirked a little, amused by his gumption.

"You said your name was Ace?" Nova asked as the Captain looked back down at her.

"Yes ma'am. That's what everyone calls me. Listen, if you came here to rescue me, then much obliged. But we need to get this intelligence data to the Dominion as soon as possible." Ace said as he held up a metal satchel with a strap on it. The satchel had an upside-down elongated egg shape, a mask perhaps, with what appeared to be a shimmering halo behind the fat end and angel wings extending from the sides.

"What is it?" Nova asked.

"Not sure. This was just a drop-off point for a deep cover agent. Our mission was just to recover it and return it to HQ on Korhal." Ace replied as Nova took the satchel, looking it over. They then heard the distant screech of a Zergling, causing them all to look around in alarm.

"Ma'am, I don't mean to rush you but we're kinda pressed for time. The natives are restless." Ace said as Nova gave a nod, putting the satchel on before cocking her rifle.

"Can you keep up, Captain?" Nova asked as Ace smirked, picking up his rifle.

"I haven't lived through four wars just to die to a bunch of Feral Zerg on some jungle backwater." Ace said, cocking his rifle.

"Let's go!" Nova ordered, firing up her jump pack as they started back off towards the landing area.

…

 **Unknown Location  
Ten Minutes Later**

A Terran man in his mid-twenties, dressed in a white naval uniform, approached a pair of metal doors that had been decorated with white plating and with golden angelic symbolism, including the strange decal of the white mask with wings and halo in gold on the doors. The doors opened to reveal a round room with white metal paneling, a curved white couch facing away from the door, facing the windows looking out over the blackness of space. The room was adorned with various upper-class amenities and fixtures, all white or gold colored with a distinct angelic theme. Among the amenities was a white grand piano with gold painted trim.

Stood near the windows was a hooded figure clad in large white and gold robes and white gloves.

"Our intel was correct, my lady. We discovered a spy in our midst. He has been apprehended and interrogated but reports say that he managed to pass information along to the Dominion about our efforts." The man said with a Russian accent as the figure glanced over its shoulder slightly.

"And what information got out?" the figure asked, a feminine voice coming from the figure, her voice filtered through some kind of speaker.

"We are not sure. We discovered he left an intel packet on the planet Athena and signaled the Dominion for pickup. We've already routed one of our cells to investigate and while their report indicates that a Feral Zerg hive managed to down their transport, they were rescued by a mercenary force." The man explained as the figure turned towards him. She wore a smooth dome-like mask over her face like the one on the sigil.

"Which mercenary force?" the figure asked.

"A relatively new group known as Nova's Nighthawks. They're led by an ex-Dominion Ghost named Nova Terra. We believe they rescued any survivors and may have obtained the intelligence the spy left for them." The man reported as the woman looked away.

"Nova…" she muttered slightly. She then looked back at him.

"Set a course for Deadman's Rock. I need to speak with our associates." The woman said as the man bowed.

"Right away, Angel." The man said before turning to leave, the woman turning back towards the windows as the doors shut behind her.

"After all these years…she reappears." The woman muttered softly as the blast shields over the windows raised into place as the Behemoth class Battlecruiser she was on prepared to jump to warp.

* * *

 **End Chapter 1.**

 **Please R &R…**

A few things…

First, the Mar Sara Magistrate is supposed to be the player character from the Terran Campaign in StarCraft (Not Brood War).

Second, Corporal Song is indeed the StarCraft version of Dva from Overwatch. The reason for this is because of her Heroes of the Storm variant. As I see it, Heroes of the Storm can act as a window into alternate timelines and universes, for instance with Dva as a Terran Goliath pilot so if you need to visualize Dva in this universe, you're safe in assuming she's using the default Goliath skin. She doesn't really go by Dva in this universe though, being referred to as Corporal Hana Song.

Third, there will be plenty of Blizzard universe crossovers such as references to the Junkrats being a reference to the character Junkrat from Overwatch. Belfing and Nelfing being references to Blood Elves and Night Elves in WoW, Graven's Hollow being a reference to the realm Raven's Hollow from Heroes of the Storm (there will be more of these later on), and I won't even explain the Moonguard and Goldshire references.


	2. Angels and Ghosts

**The Griffin – Bridge  
11:01 PM – Shipboard Time**

The Griffin had just escaped the surface of Athena, departing the system at maximum sublight speeds. On the bridge, Nova and Ace both entered, still in their jumpsuit and armor respectively. Ace was disarmed and being escorted by a pair of Nighthawk Marines.

"Captain Kunis, this is Reigel, my second-in-command. He should be able to decipher the intel your team collected." Nova said, handing over the satchel, Reigel looking the satchel over.

"Is there anything we should know about it before looking at it?" Reigel asked as Ace shrugged.

"Not sure I know any more than you do. I'm just the errand boy for this." Ace said as Reigel opened the satchel, pulling out packet with a tablet inside. He placed the tablet on one of the consoles, turning it on. All that it showed was a few lines of text that read…

" _Matt_

 _Dominic O. Mann has a shared bank account with Art Of Thunder exhibition. 15.2.8 is the routing number. The exhibition is preparing for a great show. Hope you can attend. Will try to let you know the details._

 _Garfield."_

Corporal Song seemed a bit confused.

"That's the intel? Someone's letter about an art exhibit?" Song asked but Reigel shook his head.

"It's a code. Translated it means Defenders of Man had the same funding as a group known by the acronym of A.O.T. The routing numbers 15.2.8. are another acronym known as O.B.H. which is a reference to whoever is funding this other group. The rest of the message is a warning that whoever A.O.T. is, they're planning something big and that the sender is asking Dominion Forces to try and stop it. The sender finishes that he's trying to get more information about the operation." Reigel explained as Corporal Song gave a nod of realization.

"Oh~h that makes sense." Song said, returning to her console.

"Question is, what is A.O.T." Nova said, turning to Ace who took a breath of apprehension.

"Sounds like the new Anti-Dominion group we've been monitoring lately. A group calling themselves the Angels of Tarsonis. We thought they were some religious nuts at first but evidence indicates otherwise. We believe they're arming themselves." Ace explained.

"And according to the intel, they're receiving the same funding as the Defenders of Man. Any reports of any Dominion Ghosts going missing?" Nova asked but Ace shook his head.

"I don't think so but if they are, I haven't heard of it." Ace replied.

"Any engagements with these Angels?" Nova asked.

"None so far. We think they're in a recruiting and preparation stage. We've sent teams to Tarsonis but we haven't found anything to indicate the Angels are operating out of there. We think their name is more symbolic than literal." Ace explained.

"A reference to the people killed when the Zerg invaded Tarsonis nine years ago." Reigel said as Ace gave a nod.

"That would be my guess. On a personal note, if they pretend to speak for those who lost people at Tarsonis, they don't speak for all of us." Ace said, offended by the Angels' assumed role.

"Agreed." Nova muttered before turning towards him.

"What else can you tell us about the Angels of Tarsonis?" Nova asked.

"Not much I'm afraid. But given this intel, they're being backed by the same people that backed the Defenders of Man." Ace said as Nova looked at Reigel.

"Sounds like we need to pay Mira Han a visit. She's the only one with links to Admiral Horner. If anyone can get this intel into his hands, it's her." Nova said as Reigel gave a nod.

"Agreed. What about Captain Kunis? What shall we do with you?" Reigel asked as Nova looked towards Ace.

"We can drop you off on a Dominion colony, can probably hitch a ride back to Korhal from there. We have no reason to kill you or hold you for ransom or anything." Nova said but Ace seemed disappointed.

"Can if you want, but if it's all the same to you, ma'am, I'd rather stay." Ace said, earning a curious look from Nova. She attempted to read his mind again but again found herself unable to catch even a glimpse of his thoughts.

"You want to go rogue?" Nova asked as Ace gave a light shrug.

"The Dominion black marked mine and my team's mission. The minute we sent out a distress call, our lives were forfeit. As far as the Dominion is concerned, I'm dead. So, I find myself completely free and clear to do as I will and look for work of my own…if you'll have me." Ace said as Nova and Reigel looked at each other. Reigel didn't say anything but allowed Nova to read his thoughts. Nova then looked back at Ace.

"We'll need to do some background checks first, make sure you're not a plant. We are loyal to the Dominion, but we do things that the Dominion just can't do if we can. We'll need to give you limited access until we can do the necessary checks. So until then, you can get out of your suit and relax a little." Nova said but Ace shook his head.

"Sorry, ma'am, but I'm afraid the suit doesn't come off. It's the only thing keeping me alive." Ace said as Nova arched a curious eyebrow.

"Care to clarify?" Nova asked but Cpl. Song chimed in.

"He's not kidding, chief. Scans show his suit's hardwired into some of his vital organs. _A-ya._ " Song muttered with concern, looking at her monitor.

"So the suit doesn't come off. Alright then, we'll leave it on you for now, but if we find any hidden transmitters or weapons, it's not going to help your case." Nova said as Ace gave a nod.

"Of course. I don't know of any transmitters and you took my weapons when I came aboard. So unless you find anything…" Ace said as Nova looked at him suspiciously.

"Any psi-screens?" she asked but Ace seemed confused.

"Psi-whats?" he asked.

"Nothing. Lieutenant, take him to one of the brig for the time being." Nova said to one of the Nighthawk Marines.

"You got it." He replied, leading Ace out of the bridge. Nova watched him leave before turning and looking away, lost in thought.

"Something the matter, Nova?" Reigel asked.

"I'm not sure. There's something about him. Something familiar but I can't place it. Run the necessary background checks and signal Mira Han that we have a package for Admiral Horner." Nova said as Reigel gave a nod.

"Should I check for any psi-screens?" Reigel asked as Nova sighed in exasperation.

"I'm not feeling the effects of one but for some reason I can't read his thoughts. I can read yours, Song's, and everyone else's thoughts just fine. But his?" Nova replied with a shrug.

"I'll check for any psionic energy coming from his armor." Reigel said as Nova turned to Song.

"Corporal, set a course for Deadman's Rock. I want this intel passed directly into Mira's hands, personally. While we're at it, see what you can dig up on these Angels of Tarsonis. I want to know what they might be planning." Nova said as Song gave a wink and a two-fingered salute.

"I've been wanting to improve my APM." Song commented, causing Nova to smirk a little, amused by the young Umojan's personality. Nova then turned to leave.

"I'll be in my bunk. It's been a long day." Nova said as she left the bridge.

…

 **The Griffin – Nova's Quarters  
5 Hours Later**

Nova had changed out of her jumpsuit and was now wearing a sleeveless variant of the standard tactical stealth suit. Her visor was hanging from a peg on the wall by her bunk and her rifle resting in a weapon's locker near the bunk itself. Nova had just woken up and was running her hands over her face. She had just finished putting her hair into its usual long ponytail when she heard a sound, the sound of metal groaning under a person's weight inside her room. Her psychic abilities kicked in, trying to sense anyone within her quarters but she didn't sense anyone. She could sense the minds of nearly everyone aboard, even Ace. She could sense him, but not read his thoughts.

"Who's there?" she asked anyway, looking around. She began to reach under her pillow where she kept a loaded sidearm.

"I said who's there!" Nova ordered into the room as she drew the pistol, looking around for a second as the creaking stopped. Finally, she sighed and slid the firearm back beneath the pillow. But when she turned back…

"You gonna need more than that to finish me, Nova."

"Tosh!" Nova yelped as she saw Gabriel Tosh standing before her, blood from his fatal head wound still staining his face. The dead Spectre was smiling darkly at her with his cold and dead eyes.

"Storm be comin' Nova. Big storm. One dat will consume de stars." Tosh said as he wiped some of the blood off his face, looking at it on his fingers.

"How are you-…I killed you!" Nova gasped as Tosh looked at her.

"De Angels, Nova, dey be bringin' a darkness. A dark remnant of de dark god himself. De End War be over, but dare will always be de darkness itself. You must prevent it, Nova." Tosh said as Nova started fumbling for the pistol under her pillow again.

"What are you talking about?!" she asked as Tosh chuckled.

"De past be back to haunt you, Nova. Question is, can you haunt it back? Can you remember before it be too late?" Tosh asked as Nova pulled her pistol, aiming it at Tosh and firing. But the bullet only hit the metal bulkhead wall, embedding itself in the wall. Tosh had somehow disappeared.

"Break free, Nova." She heard Tosh say from nearby. She turned to see Tosh standing at the foot of her bunk, Nova visibly alarmed by his strange power.

"Break free, and leave de Ghost behind. Give up de, Ghost, and become what you were meant to become." Tosh said before disappearing in a red electronic haze. Nova was now alone in her quarters. She put her hand to her head, feeling cool moisture on her brow. She looked at her hand and realized she'd broken out into a cold sweat and that her hands were shaking. She could feel herself breathing heavily as if she'd just finished a workout.

"Tosh?" she asked herself, finding it difficult to believe that the man she'd killed was somehow back from the dead. She jumped as she heard a metal pounding on the door to her quarters.

"Commander, we heard a report of gunfire! You alright?!" one of the marines asked. Nova got up and headed for the door, opening it to reveal two marines at the door.

"I'm fine. I…I was cleaning it. Accidental misfire." Nova said. She could tell by their thoughts that the Marines didn't fully buy her story judging by her appearance and emotional state.

"Of course." One of the marines replied, smacking the other marine on the shoulder plate, motioning quietly to move out, the two walking off down the hall. Nova took a deep breath before grabbing an old black officer's coat that she'd taken as a trophy from an ex-Dominion Battlecruiser Captain that had gone rogue a few months prior. She put the coat on and headed for Reigel's Lab.

…

 **The Griffin – Reigel's Lab  
Four minutes later.**

Reigel's lab doubled as his quarters and was filled with state-of-the-art scientific equipment, mostly focused on cybernetics and various other technological enhancements. His bunk was hidden beneath a fake wall that flipped up into the wall above it. Nova sat on a metal box in Reigel's lab as he shined a pen light into her left eye, examining her.

"It felt so real. I could practically feel him breathing down my neck." Nova said as Reigel put away the pen light, putting his fingers to his chin in thought.

"And you're sure there's no way he could have survived?" Reigel asked as Nova gave a nod.

"I sunk a dagger into his skull, Reigel. I turned his body over to the Dominion. I watched them incinerate it. His butterfly knife is still hanging on the wall of the Hyperion's Cantina. There's no way Gabriel Tosh is still alive." Nova said as Reigel tapped his chin in thought but remained silent.

"Reigel…is it possible that…that he was some kind of latent side effect of the Terrazine I used last year?" Nova asked as Reigel shrugged.

"Unlikely but possible. We still have no idea of what the long-term effects of Terrazine usage is on humans. It could be any number of things. Unfortunately, we'd need a more qualified physician to truly be able to diagnose any physical ailments." Reigel replied as Nova sighed in frustration.

"Got any suggestions?" Nova asked. Reigel gave a light shrug.

"Perhaps its time we started recruiting. Perhaps speak to Graven. He might know of some medical professionals that we could trust." Reigel said as Nova gave a nod.

"We could also use an engineer and perhaps a pilot. Song's fine as a pilot but she can't be an adjutant and a pilot at the same time." Nova said, Reigel giving a nod.

"Agreed."

"Furthermore, there's something about these Angels. If they are getting the same funding that the Defenders of Man were, its possible that they could be just as bad if not worse than the Defenders were. We might need to be ready for war." Nova said as Reigel gave a grim nod.

"I've been apprehensive about them too. Bringing the Nighthawks back to peak efficiency might be worth the investment. We have to accept that we won't be able to use the Covert Ops tech though. We may have to consider alternatives such as contracting out Mercenary groups to fill in the gaps." Reigel said but Nova seemed apprehensive.

"I'm not sure. So many of them don't exactly support the Dominion or are loyal only to whoever signs their checks." Nova said as Reigel gave a nod.

"It's a risk we'll have to take." Reigel said, Nova standing up.

"I guess we'll see what Graven has for us then. At the very least, rebuilding the team will open a few extra doors for us." Nova said as she headed for the door. She then paused and turned towards Reigel.

"Oh, one more thing. Not a word about my head case. I don't need the crew thinking I'm going insane. But if you think I'm losing it, give the order." Nova said as Reigel gave a grim nod.

"Hopefully it won't come to that, but if you leave me no choice…" Reigel said, his sentence dropping off. Nova gave a quiet nod over her shoulder before leaving the lab.

…

 **Raynor's Rock - Deadman's Port  
Deadman's Rock  
4:21 AM – Local Time**

The Griffin had landed in the area that had previously been the base used by Raynor's Raiders when they teamed up with Mira Han to take on Colonel Orlan. The area was nicknamed Raynor's Rock and had been taken over by Mira Han and her forces. Mira had converted the old Raider's Command Center into her private residence. The Command Center was protected by numerous heavy defenses though so Mira wasn't concerned. Nova and Reigel were personally escorted from the landed Griffin to the Command Center by a squad of Mira's elite mercs which included a few War Pig Marines. As they entered the Command Center, they saw the repurposed Command Bay. The Command Bay had been refurbished to act as a meeting area and bar for the various mercenary groups across the sector. Mira herself sat in a curved couch at the back near the elevators, watching a live stream performance of Mozart's Don Giovanni on a monitor hanging near her booth live from the Juliana Pasteur Memorial Opera House. She noticed Nova and Reigel's approach and smiled slightly.

"Ah the spook returns. Psi-screens, please." Mira said to one of her aides, the aide remotely activating the psi-screen to prevent Nova's telepathy from giving her an unfair advantage over the Mercenary Lord.

"We're not here to cause trouble Mira, we just need to have something passed along to a mutual friend, and you're the only one who can get close enough without sparking an incident." Nova said as Mira chuckled.

"You say the nicest things, Nova. I assume you are referring to my Matthew?" Mira asked as Nova gave a nod.

"That's right. We recovered some intel for the Dominion. We need it passed directly into his hands." Nova said as Mira smiled and sat up in her seat.

"This is why I like our meetings. You always tend to have something for my Matthew. Gives me a reason to see him, aside from his boyish good looks." Mira said playfully.

"Then perhaps you might have information we could use, Ms. Han. We're investigating a potential terrorist group known as the Angels of Tarsonis. Any chance you have any additional information on them?" Reigel asked as Mira gave him a suspicious look. She then glanced towards one of her goons for a second before back at the two Nighthawks. She then snapped her fingers and motioned away, the goons quietly moving away, out of earshot.

"The Angels of Tarsonis have employed my shipping and 'procurement' services recently. They have established a small base here on Deadman's Rock. They've been using it as a recruiting center. Perhaps you can learn something from them." Mira said as Nova arched a curious eyebrow.

"They have a base here? What've they been hiring you to get for them?" Nova asked but Mira gave her a coy smirk.

"Now-now, Nova, you should know by now that I do not reveal the details of the services rendered to my clients to others. But because I like you, I will say that some of the services have involved live shipments from a few planets such as Cavir, Agria, and Meinhoff." Mira said as Nova looked contemplative.

"What's so special about those worlds?" Nova asked but Mira merely gave her a coy shrug and a smile, indicating that she wasn't going to answer.

"We will gladly pay you for delivering the intel to Admiral Horner." Reigel stated, bringing the conversation back on track. Mira gave a dismissive wave.

"Ah but why would anyone pay a loving wife to visit her husband?" Mira asked with a chuckle.

"So, the usual rate then." Nova said as Mira chuckled again.

"I'm feeling generous. A quarter of the usual rate. I understand your group is having difficulty making ends meet." Mira said as Nova and Reigel gave a nod.

"We'll have the minerals transferred over right away." Reigel said as Mira rose to her feet.

"A pleasure doing business with you, Nova. If you and your team ever need work, I've got a few smuggling jobs that your ship would be perfect for." Mira said as Nova and Reigel started to back away, Reigel setting the intelligence packet on the small coffee table between them and Mira.

"We'll keep in touch." Nova said as they started to leave. As they headed for the front door, Nova glanced at Reigel.

"After you've gotten the minerals transferred to Mira, contact Graven about expanding our crew. If he wants to speak to me directly, he'll have to wait." Mira said as Reigel gave a nod.

"Of course. Where will you be?" Reigel asked as they exited the Command Center, Nova heading for one of their impounded vultures.

"I'm going to see if an angel can be touched by a ghost." Nova said as she revved up the vulture.

…

 **Angels of Tarsonis Recruiting Center – Angel Compound  
Deadman's Rock  
14 Minutes Later**

Nova was cloaked and looking over the Angel facility from atop a hill through the scope of her rifle. The facility was lightly defended with a pair of automated turrets guarding the entrance and she could see where two Perdition Turrets were hidden between them. The compound itself consisted of an Orbital Command Center and four Terran Barracks, two with reactors and two with tech labs. There was also an Engineering Bay and several supply depots, the latter of which were all retracted beneath the surface. She could see four missile turrets set up in the corners of the compound, one turret each. Nova quietly scowled, knowing that her cloak would be useless but she decided to give it a shot anyway. She saw only a handful of patrols, Marines all in white armor with gold colored angel wing markings on their shoulder plates.

Nova loaded her rifle with an EMP Round, heading towards the turrets at the entrance. She fired off the round, the turrets letting off a spluttering sound as sparks flew from their generators. She made her way straight towards the Command Center without a hitch, the Angel Marines moving to check the turrets as she boarded the vessel. In the Command Bay, she found it full of people, all able bodied men and women, all conversing with militarily dressed individuals. The Bay was brightly lit with white banners hanging along the edges of the ceiling with the Angel logo in gold coloring. She could overhear the conversations being held by the people present. Nova made her way through to one of the access hatches to one of the Command Center's upper levels. She easily made her way to the second level where, as she passed close to the Operation's Deck, she felt the effects of a psi-screen the closer she got. She paused to look inside where she saw something curious.

It was a hooded figure clad in a large white robe with golden angelic patterns, sat in an almost meditative pose facing away from the door while looking up at four large square monitors suspended on four metal arms. Three of the monitors, the two middle and one to the right were active, each showing live feeds from different sources. All three feeds were communications feeds of some kind. The first was clearly a human man seated in a darkened office. The second was a strange red smoke or mist with a pair of glowing yellow eyes piercing through the mist. The third showed part of a strange spherical shape of some kind that was moving and shifting oddly. There was no one else in the Operation's Deck save for a squad of four Marines and a single man in an Angel Officer's uniform. The man was stood over the hooded figure's shoulder.

" _The report that there was a Dominion spy in your midst does not please us, Angel. Time is starting to run short. Phase I must be underway before Phase II can begin."_ The human said with a light Spanish accent.

"We are redoubling our efforts. Our recruiting efforts are not as successful with the Angels of Tarsonis as the Defenders of Man. Fortunately O.B.H. has helped provide the extra manpower we need. We are on schedule with Phase I. We are already preparing to commence Operation: Horseman One." The Officer reported with a Russian accent.

" _We will be waiting for you to begin, Terrans."_ The spherical shape hissed with a strange series of guttural and slimy sounds echoing from it.

" _As for 'recruiting' we can always 'convince' anyone who seems reluctant to join our cause."_ The figure in the red mist said with a strange echoing sound to its voice.

"We will consider your offer if it seems more persuasive means are necessary. For now, let us see what effect Operation: Horseman One has on the Dominion." The officer reported.

" _See to it, Admiral. We will be waiting for your report. Angel, don't disappoint us."_ The human said before his screen went dark. The other two screens similarly cut out before all four screens slid away and a hologram of the Angel insignia appeared from a projector off to the side. At this, the hooded figure rose from its seat, turning towards the door. The four marines guarding the room moved into an escort formation around the hooded figure while the Officer followed close behind her. Nova ducked out of the way, still cloaked, as the approaching Angels got closer. She saw the officer placing a small device in his ear, a short-range psi-screen, activating it as they shut off the larger screen. As the entourage exited the Operation's Center, the hooded figure stopped mid-step, looking around curiously.

"Angel? What is it?" the officer asked. Angel didn't respond as she looked around in silence.

" **I know you're there, Ghost."** Angel spoke, but when she did, Nova winced in pain at every word. Angel's voice was booming, a mix of male and female voices, echoing in Nova's mind, making her brain tingle painfully. The Officer realized what she meant and motioned for the Marines to spread out.

" **I feel your presence. I hear your thoughts. I feel your air."** Angel said as she put her hands together in front of her in a relaxed pose. Nova was still pained by her voice but she didn't know why. She quickly moved out of the way as one of the Marines approached, rifle raised and sweeping the area with its rifle's targeting laser sweeping across in front of it.

" **Do not be afraid, little Ghost. Step into the light."** Angel said in a low, almost monstrous tone. Nova was struggling to keep from making a sound in spite of the pain, taking aim at Angel with her rifle. Angel was looking around, clearly able to sense Nova's presence with her own telepathic powers.

" _It is not her time, Nova."_ Nova heard Tosh's voice whisper. Nova froze at the sound of his voice. Angel then slowly turned towards her, looking in her direction but still unable to tell where Nova was exactly.

" **Where are you?"** Angel asked her monstrous tones. Nova kept her rifle trained on her, a kill shot lined up and ready to fire in an instant, but Nova could not bring herself to fire.

" _You are not prepared, Nova. Dis is not her time."_ Tosh whispered again. Nova grimaced and lowered her rifle, quietly slipping away for one of the access hatches. As she ran, Angel's head snapped towards the hatch but said nothing as the hatch opened and closed, seemingly on its own. The Officer then approached.

"Should we go into lockdown?" the officer asked.

"No. Let them go. There is nothing the Ghost or their Dominion masters can do to stop us. Begin departure protocols. We are moving out." Angel asked, her voice normal now. The Officer saluted in response.

…

Nova had just made it outside the base, still cloaked, when she heard the sounds of powerful engines firing up. She turned in time to see the base structures lifting off the ground along with several dropships and medivacs, all turning and heading towards a Battlecruiser with the Angel insignia on its hull in low orbit. Nova scowled at the departing Angels, haunted by her encounter with Angel. She then turned away, decloaking as she started for where she had hidden her vulture.

"Operation Horseman One?" she asked herself, softly, trying to figure out what it could imply. She hurried to the Vulture, climbing on and headed back towards the Griffin's landing area.

* * *

 **End Chapter 2**

 **Please R &R…**

Just a side note, if anyone with talent at making custom StarCraft II campaigns is interested, feel free to try and adapt this story into a playable campaign. Just let me know if you're attempting it.


	3. Revolutionary Overdrive

**The Griffin – Bridge  
Deadman's Rock  
6:13 AM – Local Time**

Nova had just returned from her scouting of the Angel compound, but as she entered the bridge, she was surprised to find a familiar face on the bridge.

"Ah, Nova. We have a guest. Mr. Graven Hill." Reigel introduced as Nova saw the Merc Recruiter on the bridge, sunglasses over his eyes and a smirk on his face with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Heard you're looking to expand your team. Thought it wise to discuss business in person." Graven said as Nova looked at him suspiciously.

"We could've met at your club." Nova said but Graven chuckled.

"Not for this kind of business. Reigel tells me you're lookin' to go after the Angels of Tarsonis, the second coming of the Defenders of Man. You're talking paramilitary, and that's gonna take more than just a few marines, reapers, and a single Ghost. You're gonna need an army. And that's where I come in." Graven said as Nova arched an eyebrow. She could see the psi-screen sticking out of his collar so she didn't bother trying to read his mind.

"What's your angle?" Nova asked as Graven smirked, pushing up his sunglasses.

"During the Second Great War, I partnered up with Jim Raynor and Raynor's Raiders, offering mercenary support to them. Could say that I helped arm a whole revolution, to say nothing of manning it. When I joined up with Raynor, everyone in my circles said I was crazy, said there was nothing to gain from it. Now I own my own moon." Graven said as Nova and Reigel exchanged looks.

"What makes you think we'll be as beneficial to you as Raynor was?" Nova asked.

"Gut feeling." Graven replied.

"That's it?" Nova asked as Graven chuckled.

"It's the same reasoning that led me to join up with Raynor. And the way I see it, you're in the same shape Raynor was in before I arrived. I told Raynor that he'd need access to manpower and equipment and I had both…for a nominal fee, of course." Graven said as Nova scowled.

"We don't have that much money." Nova said but Graven shot her a coy smirk.

"Yet. In fact, I'm giving you something of a signing bonus. I've already called in a few favors with the War Pigs and Hammer Securities. They've committed at least two barracks worth of their best Marines and Marauders to your group. That should give you a head start." Graven said as Nova ran a hand through her hair.

"Well, color me impressed so far. But then I haven't heard what's in it for you." Nova said as Graven smirked.

"Information." He replied.

"What kind of information?" Nova asked, suspicious.

"Traveling with Raynor gave me the opportunity to expand my business, make some contacts, gather valuable data I could use to my advantage. For instance, and this is a freebie, I've got a few secret mining operations on Redstone III. That planet is a miner's dream. Lava flows keep enriching the mineral deposits so it's a veritable gold mine." Graven explained but Reigel looked at him skeptically.

"Redstone III minerals are rich in Jorium. The Dominion declared that planet off limits." Reigel said but Graven looked at him with a sly smile.

"I did say they were 'secret' mining operations, didn't I?" Graven said before turning back to Nova.

"So you tag along with us and get us access to Mercenaries, manpower, and equipment. And in exchange you expand your own business interests. Seems like a fair trade to me." Nova said as Graven smiled at her.

"Looking forward to some favorable business exchanges. Point me to my quarters and I'll set up there." Graven said as Reigel gave a nod.

"I've set aside one of our spare quarters for you." Reigel said but Nova stepped into Graven's path.

"Not so fast. There's something we need from you first. We need some trustworthy types to fill some vacancies on the team. Tactical, Medical, Engineering, and a pilot or CAG. Got any suggestions?" Nova asked as Graven tapped his chin.

"You aren't going to make it easy. Well the good news is, I've already got someone for your medical officer in mind." Graven said, reaching into a satchel at his side and pulling out a tablet. A few seconds later he pulled up a dossier with a profile image of a young woman with short brown hair in a military uniform.

"Lt. Rosa Morales. Born on Earth, came to the Koprulu Sector with the UED expedition during the Brood War. Was in charge of the medical teams responsible for their pet Overmind. Turned Mercenary after the UED fleet got whacked by the Zerg. Served under Raynor during the Second War, left them after the End War. Has expressed interest in a more permanent medical post. Last known location was Haven colony. She's buddies with the magistrate there. Comes with her own advanced Medic armor and a privately owned medivac." Graven explained, showing Nova the tablet.

"Will she work with us?" Nova asked.

"Maybe you should pay her a visit and find out." Graven said with a telling smirk. Nova sighed and turned towards Hana.

"Song, set a course for Haven Colony!" Nova ordered as Hana gave a salute.

"You got it chief!" she replied, the ship starting to roar to life beneath them.

"As for your other vacancies, that'll take some time. But I heard you rescued a survivor from that Dominion Black Ops team on Athena. I was surprised to see ol' Ace again. If you need a tactical officer, I'd recommend him." Graven said as Nova looked at him curiously.

"What can you tell us about him?" Nova asked.

"He's a former Raider. Saw him plenty of times on the Hyperion. He was one of Raynor's most trusted squad leaders. Don't know much about him though, aside from what's in public records." Graven said as Reigel gave a nod.

"Mr. Hill is telling the truth, Nova. Captain Kunis's background checks came back. I was waiting to go over them with you." Reigel said as Nova gave him a nod and then turned back to Graven.

"We'll continue this conversation another time. We have other matters to attend to for now." Nova said as Graven gave a nod.

"Sure thing. I'll be in my bunk." Graven said before being escorted off the bridge by a pair of Nighthawk marines. Nova then approached Reigel as he stood at a nearby console.

"Alright, so what information did we get on Ace?" Nova asked.

"Graven was correct in that Ace served with Raynor's Raiders. It would explain how he knew to broadcast on frequency R945. He was actually one of the inaugural Raiders after their splinter from the Sons of Korhal at Tarsonis during the Great War." Reigel explained.

"So he was one of the Sons?" Nova asked but Reigel shook his head.

"There is no record of Captain Kunis ever serving with the Sons of Korhal. According to record, Ace was found injured in the streets of Tarsonis. That's when he was hardwired into that old CMC armor as a last ditch life-saving operation. After that, he joined up with Raynor. His service record is truly impressive though. He's served in the Great War, the Brood War, the Second Great War, and the End War, each time under Commander Raynor. He transferred to Dominion Special Operations after the End War which is where the accessible records of him stops." Reigel explained.

"I'm seeing why Graven suggested we hire him on as our tactical officer. But what did he do before the wars?" Nova asked curiously.

"That's where things get difficult. There is no record of a Miles Kunis ever existing prior to his appearance with the Raiders." Reigel replied.

"That's not uncommon. After Tarsonis, entire databases were wiped out. Billions of people lost all record of them because of the Zerg." Nova explained as Reigel gave an understanding nod.

"That shouldn't exclude Captain Kunis from any form of suspicion though." Reigel said.

"Never said it did. But something about him…I feel like I might've known him somehow. He's strangely familiar. What's his psi-index?" Nova asked as Reigel arched a curious eyebrow.

"It doesn't say. I'll run one if you'd like. But with all the mind wipes you've received throughout your life, Nova, I wouldn't be surprised if you did know him somehow. But Captain Kunis checks out. Dominion Military has formally declared him MIA, and in the Special Ops. circles that effectively means KIA." Reigel said as Nova took a deep breath of contemplation.

"Let's make him the offer. Marines don't typically live long enough to make Captain so he may be a rare find. You don't become a Captain in the Marines for being an idiot." Nova said as Reigel gave a nod.

"I'll make the arrangements." Reigel said as Nova started for the door.

"And I'll go make him the offer." Nova replied.

…

 **The Griffin – Brig  
A few minutes later…**

Nova entered the brig area of the Griffin. The brig was small and only had four cells with titanium doors. A pair of Nighthawk marines stood guard outside one of the cells. Both marines saluted as Nova approached.

"Open the cell." Nova ordered, one of the marines turning and opening the door to the cell. As the door opened, Nova could hear piano music playing through a filtered speaker inside the cell. Nova walked in and saw Ace, seated on the floor with his back to the wall opposite the door, eyes closed as he listened to the music playing through his suit's speakers.

"The Raindrop Prelude in D-flat major. Chopin, right?" Nova asked as she recognized the music. Ace smiled, his eyes still closed.

"Very good, Commander. Not many out here appreciate the classics. I assume though you're here to render your judgement." Ace said, still not opening his eyes.

"We're going after the Angels of Tarsonis. We're going to be working with some mercenary crews such as the War Pigs and Hammer Securities. We need a tactical officer to keep them in line. Think you can handle them?" Nova asked as Ace opened his eyes, looking at her.

"You want me to be your Tactical? Are you sure you want to put a marine who got his whole squad killed in charge?" Ace asked.

"You were blackmarked. You and your men weren't meant to survive. You know their deaths weren't your fault. Do you want the job or not?" Nova asked as Ace gave a nod.

"I'm used to working with mercs like the War Pigs. I can handle them. They're elites and they know what they're doing, much like the elites in Dominion Spec Ops, all they need is direction and someone to give them their orders and they'll get the job done. You can count on me, Commander. I won't let you down, especially you." Ace said as Nova looked at him curiously. She tried to read his mind again but still couldn't.

"Before you report to your post, I have to ask. Do we know each other somehow? I feel like I should know you." Nova said as Ace stood up, towering over her in his armor.

"We knew each other, yeah. We weren't lovers or romantic interests though, so don't worry about that. But let's just say we were…acquaintances on Tarsonis." Ace said as Nova grimaced.

"I don't remember much of my life before Tarsonis fell." Nova said as Ace sighed.

"Not surprising, considering you're a Ghost and all. Mind wipes have a habit of doing that. But rest assured, Nova, I'll be as faithful and loyal to you as I was…" Ace said before pausing, sighing in sadness at the memory. Nova looked at him, expecting him to finish but he didn't. Instead he switched off the music player in his suit, saluted, and then walked out of his cell, leaving Nova confused and alone, the two other marines following their new tactical officer out of the brig.

Nova was just starting to leave the brig when she heard what sounded like a piano playing behind her. She froze at the sound, sensing nothing and no one behind her.

"You know what it be, Nova. You know what it was dat binds you and de Captain toget'er." She heard Tosh's voice saying behind her. She slowly turned and saw Tosh leaning against one of the walls between the cell doors, a white grand piano behind him with gold painted edging, the keys moving on their own, playing out a piano arrangement of a piece known colloquially to the Koprulu Terrans as the Brood War Aria. Nova swallowed nervously with disbelief at the sight of Gabriel Tosh again.

"What are you? Keep out of my head!" Nova ordered but Tosh just smirked.

"I t'ought it be obvious, Nova. I'm a ghost, but I be de ghost of de future. Your future, Nova." Tosh said but Nova drew her sidearm, aiming it him albeit knowingly in vain.

"Go to hell, and stay there." Nova hissed. Tosh merely smiled and glanced wistfully away from her.

"I wonder why de Angel's voice hurt you so much. I know you be t'inkin' de same t'ing." Tosh said as Nova froze, the very memory of Angel's voice causing a twinge of pain.

"It…it doesn't matter." She stammered. Tosh looked at her with a coy smirk.

"A soldier whose mind you cannot read when t'ere isn't even a psi-screen around and a woman who can harm you by de mere sound of her voice…and yet, t'ey don't matter? I would love ta hear what you t'ink does matter, mon." Tosh said as Nova looked away in contemplation. Her encounter with Angel had been preying on her mind. Somehow she'd been able to psionically attack Nova by merely speaking, even when she didn't even know where Nova was despite their proximity.

"What happened back there? Tell-…great." Nova grumbled as she looked back at Tosh only to find he'd vanished, along with the piano. All was silent in the brig now, Nova alone. She holstered her pistol and quietly made her way out of the brig, a hand to her head. As she exited the brig, she spotted an intercom box on the wall. She stepped over to the box, putting in her comm-code.

"All Senior Officers to the bridge, you too Graven." Nova ordered before heading towards the bridge.

…

 **The Griffin – Bridge  
A few minutes later…**

Nova was stood at the front of the bridge, waiting as Ace, Reigel, Graven, and Cpl. Song arrived. Song, though, had never left the bridge and was at her station at the helm.

"I take it we're having a briefing, Commander?" Ace asked as Nova cleared her throat.

"Uh-huh. As some of you know, I made an impromptu infiltration of the Angel Compound on Deadman's Rock before we left. While there, I got some useful intelligence. I encountered their leader, the one they call Angel." Nova explained as Ace arched an eyebrow.

"Angel? Oh yeah, we've heard of her. White cloak, mask, looks like some kind of druid, priest, or monk?" Ace asked.

"Something like that." Nova muttered.

"Hope you put a round through her." Ace said but Nova glanced away.

"I couldn't get a shot off. She's psionic. She was able to use some kind of psionic attack on me even when she didn't know where I was when cloaked. She knew I was close, just not where. But that's beside the point. Apparently, they knew about the Dominion spy in their midst and killed them off. Apparently the fact there was a spy didn't sit well with some of their higherups." Nova explained.

"Wait, higherups? I thought they were led by Angel." Reigel said as Nova shrugged.

"I'm not so sure. There were three of them. I couldn't make out who they were. They were taking strides to keep from being identified. They seemed to be discussing the Angels' next move. It's phase one of a larger operation. The way they spoke about it implied that there were multiple sub-phases to phase one. The first part of it is something called Operation: Horseman One. I'm not sure what that is or where it's supposed to occur." Nova explained.

"Sounds ominous." Song muttered, visibly worried.

"Was there anything else, Nova?" Reigel asked as Nova gave a nod.

"Angel was accompanied by an officer. They called him 'admiral' so it's likely that he's their military leader while Angel is their figurehead. I'm not sure of their command structure but it seemed as though Angel and the Admiral were considered equals." Nova explained.

"There hasn't been any suspicious activity by the Dominion Admirals, not since General Davis's assassination. Anything about this admiral stand out?" Ace asked as Nova looked at him.

"He had a Slavic accent. Russian I'd say. I didn't get a good look at him though. Angel's psi-attack had me distracted and he wore a psi-screen on him the whole time." Nova said.

"Doesn't sound familiar to me. Only Admirals that come to my mind with a Slavic accent would be…Vice Admiral Stukov." Reigel said but Nova shook her head.

"Trust me, he wasn't infested. Unless Stukov's learned to reverse his infestation, this wasn't him." Nova said as Graven chewed on the end of a toothpick sticking out of his mouth.

"Doesn't ring any bells in my circles either." Graven commented.

"Was there anything else, Nova?" Reigel asked.

"There was. They mentioned receiving support from O.B.H. The mysterious financier for the Defenders of Man mentioned in the intel packet Ace recovered from Athena. This confirms that the Angels are receiving financial and possibly even military backing by the same group that backed the Defenders of Man." Nova explained.

"So what's our next step, Nova?" Reigel asked as Nova glanced at Graven.

"If we're going to take on the Angels of Tarsonis, we're going to need to bring ourselves to full strength. Right now, we're headed for Haven Colony to try and recruit Lieutenant Rosa Morales for our chief medical officer position. We got a tip from Mira Han that the Angels had her mercs doing jobs on Agria, Meinhoff, and Cavir. She implied that she was running a 'procurement' operation for them briefly so it seems they hired her to steal specific items from those planets. We need to know what that was." Nova said as Reigel pondered.

"Agria and Meinhoff are quarantined by the Dominion. Feral Zerg infestations, most of them dating back to the Second War. Cavir though…that planet is in Wild Zerg territory. It used to be one of the planets that the old Swarm used to breed their forces. All of the Zerg on those worlds though have been deemed feral." Reigel explained.

"So the Zerg are the common thread between those planets. Then the question becomes what would the Angels want with live Zerg?" Nova asked aloud.

"Experimentation, perhaps?" Ace pondered.

"Possibly. We just don't know enough yet. Maybe once we've recruited Lt. Morales, we'll pay one of those worlds a visit and find out." Nova said, turning towards Cpl. Song.

"What's our ETA to Haven, Song?" Nova asked as Hana looked over from her console.

"Just a few seconds, chief. Just about to make the jump in five…four…three…" Hana replied as they all turned towards the front just as the Griffin jumped to warp, dropping out of warp almost instantly with Haven in sight before them.

"Jump successful, chief. Reestablishing communications and…uh-oh." Hana said, everyone looking towards her.

"Report." Nova said as Hana hammered away at her console.

"Just got an auto-hail from the surface. Planet wide quarantine is in effect. Unknown sickness has infected the population. No one is allowed to land unless proper protocols are taken to avoid the spread." Cpl. Song replied as Nova furrowed her brow suspiciously, staring out at the planet before them.

"Nova?" Reigel asked, concerned.

"Open a channel, hail the Colony Command Center." Nova ordered as Hana turned back to her console.

"On it chief." She replied.

"A planet under quarantine. Seems like a legit place to find a Medic." Ace muttered in mild amusement. Song then looked back over towards them.

"I've got the Magistrate on the line for ya, chief. A Doctor Hanson." Hana said.

"Put her through." Nova replied. The monitor in front of them then switched to a live-feed of a Terran woman with long brown hair and glasses, wearing a lab coat.

" _This is Dr. Ariel Hanson, Magistrate of Haven Colony. I hope you're here to render some kind of assistance. We've got a lot of sick people down here."_ Dr. Hanson said, pausing to cough as Nova approached the monitor.

"It depends on the assistance, Doctor. My name is Nova Terra of Nova's Nighthawks. We're here looking for a Medic. Her name is Morales. Lieutenant Rosa Morales." Nova said as Ariel arched a curious eyebrow.

" _Morales is here. She's helping to treat the infected. What do you need her for?"_ Ariel asked.

"Job offer. We need a CMO and she was our first choice." Nova replied. Hanson seemed apprehensive about surrendering the Medic.

" _I'm not too anxious to let her go right now. Until we can get this sickness under control, we need all the help we can get. The Dominion is sending a Science Vessel with state-of-the-art medical equipment but they're not due to arrive for three more days."_ Hanson explained as Reigel approached and muted their microphone.

"Nova, the Griffin has a state of the art med-lab and medical supplies are the one thing we have a surplus of right now." Reigel said as Nova gave a nod, unmuting the microphone.

"Maybe we can help, Doctor. Our ship has a med-lab with a surplus of supplies. We can enact quarantine procedures and land on the surface. At the very least, our supplies might be of use." Nova said as Ariel smiled slightly.

" _We'll take every ounce of help we can get. I'm sending you the coordinates for the Jamestown Outpost. It's where our militia is headquartered. We have all the uninfected people sequestered there away from the rest. I'd still recommend full biohazard gear if you leave your ship."_ Ariel replied as Nova gave a nod.

"We'll be ready. Griffin out." Nova said, cutting the transmission.

"Alright people, hazard detail, now!" Nova ordered as she headed for the exit. Hana started issuing orders to the crew over the intercom, Reigel sitting down at one of the stations on the bridge, Graven headed back for his quarters, and Ace hurrying after Nova.

"Haven. Haven't been there since 05 when we fended off a Protoss attack." Ace said as Nova glanced up at him.

"Got any useful intel we can use?" Nova asked.

"Good folk, strong militia, self-sufficient for the most part. Jamestown Outpost is the old base the Raiders established to fend off the Protoss. Probably named after the Commander too." Ace explained as they rode the elevator down to the engineering floor where the Nighthawk Marines and Reapers were gearing up. Some of the Hammer Marauders and War Pig Marines were gearing up too. Four SCVs were warming up their propulsion engines as well. Nova and Ace headed for the onboard armory.

"According to Graven, Morales served with Raynor too. Did you meet?" Nova asked as Ace chuckled, picking up an Impailer rifle, checking its ammo.

"One of the best damn medics I've ever seen. Nice gal, dedicated, won't hesitate to shoot an optic flare in your face if you try harming her patients." Ace said as Nova secured her own hazardous environment suit, putting on a special mask like the ones other Ghosts wore in the field, one that covered her whole face and head. Even her long blonde ponytail was tucked inside her suit.

"Good thing we're here to help." Nova said as she picked up her C-20A, cocking it before heading towards the forward loading bay with Ace close behind.

"Alright everyone, listen up! We're here to help these people! Not cause an incident! Do what you can to help and look for ways to shore up their base defenses! Captain Kunis, it's on you." Nova said they reached the front where the soldiers stood facing them. Ace turned towards them with his mask up, a gruff look on his face.

"Alright ladies, this is a biohazard situation! Keep your suits sealed at all times so if I see any of your ugly mugs without a mask over it, you're getting left behind if you're lucky! Otherwise you'll need to get those overengineered codpieces refitted! Now let's get out there and make these people proud! Are ya with me marines?!" Ace barked, the soldiers letting out a unanimous **"OOH-RAH!"** in response. Nova gave Ace an unseen smirk.

"Ni~ce. Looks like you're going to fit in just fine." Nova complimented as Ace chuckled, turning back towards front.

"If the men don't curse my name under their breath at nights, then I ain't doin' my job." Ace said, sealing his suit as Nova smiled.

"Don't be too hard on them. We're kinda like a family here." Nova said as Ace looked at her.

"I learned a long time ago, Commander, that it takes a little TLC, that stands for Tough Love Crapola to keep the marines motivated. They know the Sarge looks out for them, and they look after the Sarge. Besides, just from looking at these guys, I can tell they're elites." Ace said as Nova rested the butt of her rifle against her shoulder.

"Well we are an ex-special ops force." Nova replied as Ace chuckled.

"Even the cream of the crop gets a little rotten now and then." He replied as the bay was lit by red floodlights.

"Red light! Get ready boys!" Ace yelled as they felt the Griffin starting to touch down on the planet's surface. The Griffin finally set down, an energy field appearing between the marines and the boarding ramps before the ramps started to lower, the Nighthawks filing out into the militia base where several Marines, Marauders, Firebats, and Medics with green markings and the Haven Colony insignia stood guarding several tents and makeshift houses where the uninfected civilians were taking refuge. Nova and Ace looked around as they disembarked, noticing the green colored structures.

"Pretty well armed, for a militia." Nova muttered as she noticed the Starport and Factory nearby.

"Old Raider base, remember? Raynor left them behind for the colonists considering they're so close Protoss space." Ace replied as one of the militia marines approached them.

"Commander Terra, welcome to Haven. The Magistrate's ordered me to show you to Lt. Morales. Speaking personally, if your offer is as good as it sounded, you're a life saver." The marine reported as Nova gave a nod.

"My second-in-command, Reigel, will help coordinate our forces with yours. Corporal Song on the Griffin will assist with logistics. Ace, you're with me." Nova said as the Marine gave a slight "nod" by pivoting slightly forward.

"Much obliged Commander. This way. The Lieutenant's in the Med Barracks." The Marine said as he led them to a barracks with an attached tech-lab. The barracks had been painted white with medical crosses and a Caduceus insignia. The Tech-lab though was green with the Haven Colony insignia.

"A Barracks turned into a hospital?" Ace asked as they entered the barracks, finding it full of people being examined for injuries or illnesses. Everyone there were not infected with the virus but the doctors and nurses weren't taking any chances as they examined them all in full bio-hazard gear.

"Border colonies do that sometimes. Convert a leftover or decommissioned barracks into a mobile clinic or hospital. Sometimes you have to make do with what you have." Nova replied as the marine led them to one of the rooms in the barracks. Normally this room would be where the marines would be sealed inside their armor by mechanical arms, but the arms had been removed and the room itself had been turned into a makeshift medical laboratory. Inside the lab was a figure in a suit of advanced medic armor. The shield and A-13 Grenade launcher however were sitting nearby.

"You've got visitors, doc." The marine said as Nova and Ace stepped into the lab. The medic turned towards them. Her helmet was sealed shut due to the quarantine so they couldn't see her face. Nova couldn't read her mind though and knew why as she felt the effects of a psi-screen coming from the medic's armor.

"Lieutenant Miles Kunis. I'd know that rickety old iron-lung of yours anywhere." Morales greeted as she saw Ace. Ace chuckled and rested his rifle on his shoulder plates.

"Rosa Morales. You look good, Doc. Seems mercenary life has been treating you well. Oh, and it's 'Captain' Kunis now." Ace said as Morales gave a cordial nod.

"Good to hear you're coming up in the sector. I take it you're the spook Ariel warned me about. The one with the advanced med-lab?" Morales said, looking at Nova.

"Nova Terra of Nova's Nighthawks. We're looking for a new CMO. Graven Hill recommended you to us." Nova said as Morales gave a slight nod.

"He gave me a head's up. I've been looking for a more permanent post for a while. Being a solo merc doesn't work very well for too long. He gave me the sit-rep on your group. I'm interested, and Dominion loyalties don't bother me. But I'm not about to leave while this quarantine is in effect." Morales explained as Nova gave an understanding nod.

"By all means. You're free to use the Griffin's Med-Lab. Talk to Reigel. He's my top-kick. He'll get you situated. The lab's state-of-the-art for last year, but it's fully stocked. We'll be here until that science vessel from the Dominion arrives, then we have to leave, with or without you." Nova said as Morales turned to a console, entering some information.

"Give me a few minutes to download my research and I'll be right over. By the way, Ariel asked me to have you call her after you talked to me. Seems she's got a job for you." Morales said as Nova looked at a nearby monitor.

"Mind if I use your comms?" Nova asked.

"By all means." Morales replied. Nova immediately turned to the controls and started entering commands into the console. Finally it displayed an image of Dr. Hanson from the back of a personnel carrier, the camera shaking slightly from the motion of the carrier.

" _Ah, Commander. I see you've met with Morales."_ Hanson said as Nova gave a nod.

"She's preparing to transfer over to the Griffin to continue her research. We'll plan to stay until the Dominion arrives, then we need to leave. We won't steal Morales from you if the quarantine isn't lifted by then though, but the Dominion's still got warrants out for us." Nova said as Hanson gave an understanding nod.

" _Of course. I can't begin to thank you enough for the help you're offering though. You didn't have to do that and not many would even offer it to begin with. I take it Morales mentioned the job I had for you?"_ Hanson asked as Nova glanced at Morales for a moment as the Medic worked to pack up and then turned back to the monitor.

"She just mentioned you had a job. Didn't say what it was." Nova replied.

" _Well as you know we're located pretty close to Protoss space. Four years ago, they tried to purge the colony because they thought we were infested with a Zerg virus. Commander Raynor and his boys fought them off and we've had a fragile peace with the Protoss since. With this illness sweeping the planet, the Protoss could return to finish the job if they think the Zerg are involved. We haven't found anything to implicate the Zerg so far but the Protoss might not be willing to take the chance."_ Hanson replied.

"So what do you want us to do?" Nova asked.

" _We have reason to believe that there's some kind of base hidden to the north of your location that's acting as a Protoss observation post or observatory. We've had reports of ships coming and going from that location and we aren't equipped with the tech needed to do a sensor sweep. We were wondering if you could make a scouting run for us. We'll pay you for the trouble and you'll be free to make use of the new refinery we opened near your landing area to stock up on vespine."_ Hanson said as Nova gave a nod.

"Sounds easy enough. Where will you be if we need to contact you?" Nova asked.

" _Incommunicado I'm afraid. I'm heading to one of the colony sites right now. Apparently, the disease is getting worse. It hasn't caused any fatalities yet but it is causing some headaches, coughing, sneezing, and it is highly contagious. It doesn't match anything in our medical databases. It's possibly a virus native to Haven. We'll need to do more research though."_ Hanson said as Nova checked her rifle.

"We'll look into the observatory and we'll pass information on to Lt. Morales until you're back on the comms. Nova out." Nova said, ending the transmission. She then turned to Morales as she picked up her medic shield.

"Something doesn't feel right about this. What can you tell us about this disease?" Nova asked. Morales looked at her for a moment before looking at the Militia Marine, motioning for the door. The Marine got the hint and stepped out, the door closing behind him. Morales then looked at Nova, her helmet opening to reveal a feminine face with short brown hair.

"There's something we haven't been mentioning to the people. We're trying to keep it quiet to avoid a panic. But it looks like this virus isn't anything natural." Morales said, Nova pulling her mask open, Ace's mask opening as well.

"A bioweapon of some kind?" Nova asked.

"We can't confirm it until the Dominion arrives, but it bears all the hallmarks of a lab engineered virus. But there's a problem. It's incomplete." Morales said as Ace arched an eyebrow.

"Incomplete?" he asked. Morales pondered for a moment before answering.

"It's like this. Imagine this virus was a bullet, okay? You have all the workings for the bullet but it's missing the gunpowder. This virus is basically the bullet without the gunpowder. Harmless on its own. I'd need to do more tests to be sure." Morales explained.

"So it needs some kind of reagent or trigger to make it deadly." Nova said as Morales gave a grim nod.

"Yeah. That's why we instituted the quarantine. The people here at the camp are the only people left uninfected and the militia are on standby to enact an evacuation protocol if this thing becomes deadly." Morales said as Nova looked at Ace.

"Put a squad together, Ace. We're going hunting." Nova said as she put her mask back on, Ace's mask closing as well.

"You got it." He replied as they headed out the door.

* * *

 **End Chapter 3**

 **Please R &R…**


	4. Pestilance

**Haven Colony  
1:14 PM – Local Time**

Nova, Ace, and a squad of Nighthawk forces were traveling north, away from the Jamestown Outpost and the Griffin, following a road leading North. A handful of Militia Marines were following along with them. They'd been marching north for about ten minutes now.

"This doesn't feel right." Nova muttered.

"Problem, Commander?" Ace asked.

"A Protoss Observatory built in secret? That doesn't sound like the Protoss. Even the Tal'darim aren't that sneaky." Nova said as Ace looked forward for a moment before looking back at her.

"Maybe it's those Dark Templar guys. You never know when those creeps are lurking around." Ace replied but Nova didn't seem convinced.

"I don't think the Protoss are involved at all. I can usually sense some kind of psionic presence when Protoss are around. I'm not getting anything." Nova said as Ace looked straight ahead.

"Stay frosty boys, I've got a bad feeling about this." Ace said as they continued to march.

…

 **The Griffin – Bridge  
Meanwhile**

Corporal Song was at her station, monitoring the deployment of the Nighthawk troops and the mobilization of their SCVs as they collected vespine from a nearby refinery. She was monitoring the deployment as Reigel entered the bridge with Morales close behind.

"Welcome to the bridge, Lieutenant." Reigel commented as Hana looked over her shoulder at the two as they approached the main console in the center.

"Getting the grand tour already, Reigel?" Hana asked with a smile.

"Lieutenant Morales wanted to run a few scans with the Griffin's sensor array. Ah, Lieutenant Rosa Morales, this is Corporal Hana Song, our acting pilot and adjutant." Reigel introduced as Morales gave her a cordial nod.

"Hey, didn't you win the Umojan Gaming Tournament a few years ago?" Rosa asked as Song's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, that was me. You watch the UGTs?" Hana asked but Rosa shook her head.

"No, I just saw you in the newsletter." Rosa replied as she and Reigel approached the front console.

"Oh." Hana muttered, lightly crestfallen.

"What scan did you want to perform?" Reigel asked as Rosa produced a data disc.

"This disc contains the information on the virus. I want to see if we can detect it with your scanners, see how much of the colony is infected." Rosa said as Hana cleared her throat.

"Uh, just curious, how do we know you didn't bring the virus onboard?" Hana asked as Reigel took the disc and plugged it in, starting to configure the sensors.

"I've been sealed in my armor since I arrived on Haven and I passed through the standard decontamination procedures when I came aboard." Rosa said as Reigel pulled up the sensor displays.

"Running a scan on the base here as a control. No contaminants here. Scanning Colony Site One…Mmm." Reigel grimaced as they saw a big blob of red representing Site One, showing a 99% infection.

"All of the people who were clean were sent here to the base. I think sites two, three, and four will be just as bad. Site One was the first place to report the virus." Rosa reported.

"Site Two is infected as well…wait a minute." Reigel said as he looked at the sensors again, zooming them out to display a view of the colony from overhead with all of the colony sites and Jamestown Outpost highlighted and notated. Site one was in the center with two and four to the northeast and south east respectively, and site three to the west while Jamestown Outpost was to the northwest of site one and northeast of site three.

"And you say site one was where the virus was first reported?" Reigel asked as Rosa looked at him.

"I think we're thinking the same thing. Pull up file Rosa-6 from the disc. It's the infection report logs. I've been wanting to run this analysis for a while. I just haven't had the equipment to do it." Rosa said as Reigel pulled up the logs, running them through the computer. The display then showed a simulation of the virus's spread, starting at site one, the virus infecting nearly half of site one before spreading to site three, an arrow pointing towards three from site one. Site four was the second site infected, another arrow pointing to it from site one. Finally, site two was infected and now it was only a matter of watching the infection rates increase in the four sites. Jamestown Outpost remained uninfected.

"That is not good." Rosa said with a grim expression.

"No, it's not." Reigel said as he zoomed the view out to show a larger view of the area around the base.

"Running a scan to the north." Reigel said as yellow circles started appearing on the screen in areas to the north for a moment before turning blue, indicating no detections, as the sensors swept across the area. Finally, after several scans they found what they were looking for.

"There, that's where the virus came from!" Reigel commented, as Morales looked closer at the screen. At the same time, Hana's console started beeping.

"That's where the Protoss base is?" Morales asked.

"That's not Protoss." Reigel replied.

"Uh, Reigel, we've got company in orbit! That science vessel from the Dominion, I think it's here!" Morales said as Reigel pulled up their long-range scanners.

"Wait, something's not right. That ship isn't registering as Dominion. Its transponder is identifying itself as the Malthael." Reigel said as Hana's console started beeping.

"It's firing some kind of missile! It's headed straight for site one!" Hana reported as they saw the missile, being represented by a dotted red line from the science vessel, head straight for site one. They all held their breath as the missile impacted near the center of site one. They looked out the Griffin's windows towards the site and just saw the white contrail from the missile in the distance but no explosion.

"What happened? No explosion." Rosa said, confused but an alarm started going off on Hana's console.

"What the-…Reigel, I'm picking up a massive number of Zerg bio-signatures coming from the site!" Hana reported as Reigel and Morales both turned back to the display, looking at the sensors which showed a flashing red circle showing a rapidly declining number of infected but a just as rapidly increasing number of Zerg.

"Mother mercy, it's not an infection…it's an infestation!" Rosa exclaimed as Reigel turned to Hana.

"Get Nova on the comms, Corporal." He said as Hana gave a nod.

"I'm on it!" she replied.

…

Back north of the base, Nova and her forces were trekking through a wooded area, marching towards where a clearing large enough for a base or outpost to be located. As they approached, they heard the sonic boom of something overhead. They all turned and saw a contrail flying rapidly in from orbit, headed straight towards the surface.

"What was that?" one of the marines asked.

"Looked like a warhead of some kind." One of the Marauders commented.

"A missile, fired from orbit, but no explosion?" Ace muttered in confusion.

"Something's happened, I can feel it." Nova replied in a low tone as her comms crackled to life.

" _Nova! It's Reigel! Please respond!"_ Reigel said over the comms.

"Reigel, what's going on?" Nova asked.

" _A science vessel dropped out of warp and fired a missile at the colony! It's caused some kind of reaction in the infected! It's turning them into Zerg!"_ Reigel exclaimed as Nova's eyes widened.

"Did you say Zerg?!" she asked. Now Ace and several of the marines were looking at her.

" _Morales believes that the missile was carrying the catalyst to activate the virus's true form! It's an infestation virus!"_ Reigel reported as Nova sensed something behind her. She turned back to the north, scanning the brush ahead of them before seeing a glint of light flashing in the bushes, her eyes widening again.

"Take cover!" Nova yelled just before the sound of gunfire filled the air, bullets spraying through the woods. The marines took cover, firing into the bushes. Nova quickly cloaked, disappearing as Ace took the lead.

"Light 'em up boys! Marauders! Smoke 'em out!" Ace yelled, the marauders moving forward and firing a few grenades into the bushes, one of them exploding and launching a Terran Marine into the air. The marine had white armor with the Angel insignia on it.

"Oh hell it's those Angels! Let's send 'em to hell! Firebats, turn and burn!" Ace ordered, the Firebats unleashing jets of napalm into the brush, igniting it and forcing several Angel Marines and a few marauders out of the brush. Some of them were suddenly shot dead by perfect headshots, seemingly from out of nowhere.

"I think we know whose base we were coming up on!" Ace said as one of the Angel Marines took aim but his rifle only clicked repeatedly as he ran out of ammo. Ace quickly shot him in the legs before grabbing him and dragging him behind their lines.

"You've got ten seconds to talk before I tear your skull from your head and beat you to death with it!" Ace roared at him with his rifle trained on him. The Marine's helmet remained sealed but he silently flipped him off. Ace was about to pull the trigger but his rifle was suddenly pushed away by an unseen force.

"Wait!" Nova ordered over the gunfire behind them, decloaking as she knelt down towards the marine's face, the marine just grunting in pain from having his legs shot out. For a few seconds, Nova, Ace, and the Marine were silent while the Nighthawks gunned down the remaining Angels. One of the Nighthawk Marauders, one of the Hammer Security marauders judging by his armor, quickly approached.

"Captain, area's secure but I don't know for how long. We lost a couple of men but their casualties were heavy." The Marauder reported.

"Good work. Take a defensive position and be prepared to fall back to base. I have a feeling we're gonna be needed back there ASAP." Ace said as the Marauder turned to where Nova was kneeling over the wounded Angel, both silent.

"Uh…What's goin' on?" the Marauder asked.

"Quiet. She's interrogating him." Ace replied as they both watched the two. Finally, Nova stood up.

"Horseman One." Nova muttered softly.

"Commander?" Ace asked as Nova turned back to him.

"Order the men to fall back! Double-time it back to base! Hurry!" Nova ordered, Ace giving a nod.

"What about-." Ace said, motioning to the prisoner just seconds before Nova blew the prisoner's brains out with a pointblank shot to the head with her rifle.

"No prisoners needed. I got all we need from him. Now let's move!" Nova replied as they started running back towards the base.

…

Back at the Jamestown Outpost, the Nighthawks and Militia Marines were scrambling to shore up their defenses as a second missile from orbit hit the third colony site. Morales was out on the field, helping to corral the civilians into the med barracks and into the militia Command Center.

"Come on people! Let's move!" she yelled. Her radio then came to life.

" _Lieutenant! We've got a disturbance at the South gate!"_ Hana reported.

"Copy that, Corporal! I'm on my way!" Morales replied, hurrying towards the base's south entrance. The entrance was marked by a pair of bunkers, which were flanked by a pair of missile turrets. There were several soldiers with their guns trained on a group of civilians on the road ahead of them.

"What's going on here private?" Morales asked as she approached.

"These civilians are coming in from the third site! They haven't been cleared!" one of the marines replied. Morales gave a nod and stepped forward.

"Stand by." She said to the men as she approached the civilians. She was about half-way to them when she stopped.

"Help us! There's something going on at our colony site!" one of the civilians said, one of them coughing heavily for a second.

"I need to scan you to make sure you're not infected, hold still!" Morales said as she raised her shield towards them, a device on the front of it opening up, allowing a blue scanning beam to sweep up and down them. The beam then turned red as it continued to sweep over them, causing Morales to sigh heavily in frustration.

"I'm sorry, you're infected. I can't let you in." Morales said as she started to step back.

"Please! You have to! We could die!" one of them begged. They suddenly heard the sonic boom of another missile breaking through the atmosphere.

"Incoming!" one of the Marines exclaimed as they all looked up, seeing the missile headed straight towards the outpost.

"Take cover!" another of the marines yelled just as the missile came screaming low towards the base, but as it neared the ground, it started releasing a plume of orange-red gas, spreading it over the base before the missile impacted harmlessly in the dirt. The marines and the civilians within the base looked around in confusion. Morales and the marines at the south gate though suddenly heard a horrified screaming coming from the infected civilians. They all turned and saw the civilians writhing in pain and agony as brown and red growths started forming on them, their skin turning an unnatural shade of brown or purple. Morales kept the scanning beam on them as they mutated, sprouting long wriggling tentacles or sharp bone claws on their arms.

"Mother mercy." Morales gasped as she backed away just as the newly Infested Terrans stopped their writhing and turned towards her, starting to shamble uncontrollably towards her. Morales quickly raised her grenade launcher, firing a spinning orange metal sphere which exploded on impact, reducing the Terrans to a shower of lumpy purple gore before she turned and ran back behind the line of marines.

"We need to get out of here!" Morales said into her comms as she ran for the nearby starport.

" _We need to wait for the Commander to return!"_ Reigel replied.

"Don't worry, I'm a Medic, and we don't leave people behind!" Morales replied as she saw her Medivac sitting the base of the starport. On the Griffin's bridge, Hana made a nervous gulp as she saw a swarm of red dots, each one representing an infested terran, moving towards the base from the first and third sites.

"Uh, Reigel?!" Hana said as Reigel stood at the forward console, a screen showing a live feed of Dr. Hanson inside of the Command Center of the second site.

"Doctor, you need to leave! These missiles are triggering the virus! It's turning everyone infected into infested!" Reigel said as Hanson coughed.

" _I'm already getting people onto the evacuation transports as fast as we can, but I don't know if we'll make it in time! I'm transferring command of the militia base to you and Commander Terra. If you lose contact with us, leave!"_ Hanson ordered. Hana's console suddenly beeped.

"Base command acquired! We have control of all outpost structures-." Hana said before her console started beeping an alarm again, causing her to pale.

"-Another missile incoming! It's headed straight for site two!" Hana exclaimed as Reigel looked out the viewports in time to see the missile's contrail coming down towards the surface from orbit. He turned back towards Dr. Hanson on the screen, Hanson looking around in concern.

" _What's happening?!"_ she asked, as screaming could be heard off screen. Hanson suddenly grabbed her stomach with a look of pain, doubling over below the screen as she screamed in agony. Reigel could do nothing but look on in horror as Hanson's screaming was soon joined with the sound of ripping fabrics and flesh before falling silent. Reigel and Hana looked at the screen in visible fear before suddenly a heavily mutated Hanson burst up from the floor with a feral roar. Her face had split open below the nose with mandibles over her jaws and her eyes glowing orange. The feed suddenly went to static for a moment before cutting out completely. Hana put a hand to her mouth.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." She muttered.

"Hold it in, Corporal. We need to leave, sound the evacuation, now!" Reigel ordered as Hana gave a nod.

"On it! All personnel to evac stations! Repeat, all personnel to evac stations! This is not a drill! Repeat, this is not a drill!" Hana ordered.

…

Meanwhile, Nova, Ace, and the rest of the Nighthawks were hurrying back towards the base as the first of the Infested Colonists started to cross their paths.

"Mother mercy, they're infested!" Ace exclaimed before Nova took aim and fired at one of the infested, shooting it in the head and killing it instantly.

"Running fire, people! We can't afford to get bogged down!" Nova ordered as the Nighthawks opened fire, killing the Infested as they kept running. As they rounded a bend in the road, they heard the sounds of engines firing up ahead of them. They looked ahead at the base and saw the Command Center, Factory, Starport, both Barracks, a pair of Hercules Transports, and the Griffin lifting off and heading for orbit.

"They're leaving us behind! What the hell!" Ace exclaimed.

" _Guess again, Ace!"_ Rosa's voice said over the radios as they heard a set of engines getting closer. They looked and saw a Medivac come roaring in low, moving into a hover mode in front of them with is boarding ramp lowered. Nova smirked as she saw Morales at the controls.

" _Come on! We don't have all day!"_ Morales yelled as Ace turned to the rest of the Nighthawks.

"You heard the lady, everyone onboard!" Ace yelled as they rushed to board the Medivac, firing at the approaching Infested. Finally, the surviving soldiers were aboard.

"We're in! Go!" Nova yelled as the ramp slammed shut, the Medivac lifting off and rocketing after the fleeting colonists. Nova hurried into the cockpit, as they started catching up with the fleeing buildings.

"Can we signal the Griffin?" Nova asked.

"Already patching them through." Morales replied.

"Nova to Griffin, do you read me?" Nova asked as Reigel appeared on the monitor.

" _Loud and clear. We need to find a place for the civilians."_ Reigel said as Nova gave a nod.

"Talk to Graven and see if he can arrange some kind of pickup. What about that Science Vessel?" Nova asked.

" _Untouchable. It activated a defense matrix as we broke atmo. It's defenseless but we don't have the firepower to pierce that matrix."_ Reigel said as Nova scowled at the science vessel through the cockpit windows.

"Leave it be for now. The civilians take priority. Standby with the decon-crews and ready the forward bay for us. We need to dock as soon as possible." Nova said as Reigel gave a nod.

" _Crews are standing by."_ Reigel said as Ace walked into the cockpit.

"So, what happened down there? Did the Angels do that?" Ace asked as Nova turned and leaned against the wall of the cockpit with a sigh.

"When I psionically interrogated that Marine, he revealed that the virus was part of the first phase of the Angels' plans. They've successfully weaponized the Zerg Infestation Virus." Nova said as Morales turned towards her.

"Wait, you mean that the Angels willfully infested those people?" Morales asked as Nova gave a nod.

"That's right. But that was just a test. Now that they know it works, they can move ahead with the real Operation." Nova said as Ace scowled.

"Horseman One." He muttered.

"The name makes sense now. The First Horseman of the Apocalypse: Pestilence and plague." Nova said.

"Which means the next step would be the Second Horseman." Rosa said as Ace and Nova looked at each other, both knowing what this meant.

"War."

* * *

 **End Chapter 4**


	5. Regroup

**The Griffin – Bridge  
3:53 PM – Shipboard Time**

The Nighthawks were still escorting the Haven Colonists through space as they put as much distance between them and Haven itself on their sublight drives. Morales's medivac had docked with the Griffin and was now stored inside the cargo bay. Nova and Graven entered the bridge where Ace, Reigel, Hana, and Morales were waiting.

"I just spoke to the Magistrate of Mar Sara. He's sending a Battlecruiser to pick up the refugees and he's alerted the Dominion to the Haven situation." Nova reported as Reigel turned to Hana.

"Corporal, have a destination set for the warp drive for when that Battlecruiser arrives." Reigel said as Hana gave a salute from her station.

"I'm on it." She replied as Reigel turned back to Nova.

"Some of the Colonists are requesting permission to join the Nighthawks. They're mighty pissed about what happened and they want payback. Can't say as I blame them." Ace reported as Nova gave a nod.

"Screen them and welcome them aboard. We can always use a few extra guns." Nova said before turning towards Morales.

"If you wanted to stay and help the colonists, I'd understand, Lieutenant." Nova said but Morales shook her head.

"No way, Commander. If you're going after the Angels, then you're going to need someone to keep you and the rest of the Nighthawks stapled together. After seeing what they did on Haven, willingly Infesting innocent people, they're officially at the top of my guano list." Morales said as Nova gave her a light smile and a nod.

"Welcome aboard then, Lieutenant." Nova said as Morales cleared her throat.

"With your permission, I'd like to put in a few calls to some old UED friends of mine, see if we can't lend some support. I know I can probably get the guys from Spartan Company with their Goliaths to join up…that's if we can field a Factory and I can probably get some of the Overmedics to join us too." Morales explained as Hana arched a confused eyebrow.

"Overmedics?" she asked.

"They're the UED Elite Medics that were tasked with keeping the Second Overmind pacified during the Brood War. After the war, the survivors, like Lieutenant Morales here, became mercenaries for the most part." Reigel explained.

"We could use both Spartan Company and the Overmedics if we're going to take on the Angels. But at the moment, we can't field a Factory without an engineer and if the Overmedics bring any Medivacs, we won't be able to field many of them without a Starport, and we can't field one because we have neither an engineer or a CAG to manage them." Nova said as Morales gave an understanding nod.

"I'll talk to them anyway. At the very least, have them standing by to help so that we can deploy them when we're able to." Morales said as Nova gave a nod.

"Do it. And I'd like to see you in the med-lab when you get a moment, Lieutenant." Nova said as Morales gave a nod before saluting and walking off the bridge.

"So we've got a CMO and possibly some dedicated field medics with the potential promise of some heavy weaponry. Which brings up the subject of finding ourselves an engineer, someone who knows how to keep the equipment up and running." Nova said as she looked at the team.

"Best engineer I know is Rory Swann but I highly doubt he'd be willing to just up and leave his post on the Hyperion to come work for us." Ace said as Nova glanced at Graven.

"I'm working on a possible lead for a mechanic. Might need to come up with some funds to pay for them." Graven said as Nova grimaced.

"Which we don't have. We need to focus on the Angels, stop them from executing Operation: Horseman One. But we can't do that until we can field a force formidable enough to do so. Luckily, the Magistrate of Mar Sara passed along some useful information. The Dominion recently posted a bounty for credible leads on possible Angel of Tarsonis bases or activities." Nova said as Graven smirked.

"The Raiders had a shell account set up to trick the Dominion for similar tipoffs regarding the Zerg or the Raiders themselves." Graven said as Ace chuckled.

"Yeah, I remember that. We'd set up a trap, tell the Dominion about it, blow 'em away when they arrived. Then we'd get paid for killing off their own guys. It was a good scam." Ace said, smirking fondly at the memory.

"Only we don't have reason to kill the Dominion's people. We're on the same side." Reigel said as Ace looked at him.

"Of course we don't now, but back then, we did." Ace replied.

"It might prove useful. Reigel, can you set up that account? I've got a few leads from that Marine I interrogated on Haven that might be worth the Dominion checking out. We might also benefit from investigating them too." Nova said as Reigel gave a nod.

"I'll get right on it." He replied, turning towards the main console.

"In the meantime, we need to plot out our next move. Until Graven can come through with an engineer for us, we're at an impasse." Nova said before feeling her stomach rumble.

"Come on Nova, let's get some grub." Ace said as Nova gave a nod.

"Sure." She replied, not thinking anything of it. As the two walked out of the bridge, Nova glanced up at him.

"You're not trying to woo me are you?" Nova asked but Ace chuckled.

"No ma'am. Not that you're not attractive, but I just…well, it's like they say: True love comes only once." Ace replied soberly.

"You lost family on Tarsonis?" Nova asked, sympathetically.

"I lost everyone on Tarsonis. My family, my wife…I know what those colonists are going through. It's the same thing that happened to me after Tarsonis, except they didn't get stuck in this tin can for life." Ace grumbled.

"Yet here you are. You're still here after nine years, so clearly you've not given up." Nova said as Ace gave a nod.

"I came very close on several occasions, Nova. Almost pulled my own plug a few times. I kept going because I didn't want to die like a coward." Ace said as they entered the elevator.

"And now that you're here? You don't seem so suicidal anymore." Nova said as Ace gave a nod.

"To be completely honest, Nova, it's because of you. You're a familiar face from the old days. You may not remember me, and that's fine, but to me it means more than you could possibly imagine." Ace said as Nova looked away from him in contemplation. He then chuckled.

"Almost forgot I was talking to a telepath. You probably could read my mind." Ace said but Nova looked at him. As usual she couldn't read his mind for some unknown reason.

"I could…but I won't. Despite popular belief, we telepaths don't like diving into other people's thoughts." Nova said as the elevator doors opened, Nova walking out, leaving Ace behind looking at her suspiciously.

"That's news to me." He muttered.

…

 **Dominion Imperial Palace  
Korhal  
A few minutes later…**

Emperor Valerian Mengsk was stood in his office, looking out the windows at the city below him. He had the phonograph nearby playing a record of a more recent recording of the Brood War Aria. As he stood in contemplation, he heard the electronic hiss of a cloaking field behind him.

"Admiral Horner?" Mengsk asked the decloaking Imperial Spectre behind him. The Spectre's armor was aesthetically the same but had a white helmet, gauntlets, shoulder guards, breastplate, and boots instead of the gold colored ones. This particular spectre was a female as evidenced by her femininely shaped armor and a long ponytail of auburn hair sticking out the back of the helmet.

"Yes, milord." The Spectre replied as Valerian gave a quiet wave, motioning towards him. The Spectre recognized the gesture and bowed before turning and opening the door to the office, allowing Admiral Matthew Horner to enter, his hands behind his back as he entered. He then turned and stood at attention, saluting the Emperor.

"Your majesty." Matt greeted as Valerian glanced towards him over his shoulder.

"What is the latest news on the Angels of Tarsonis, Admiral?" Valerian asked.

"Not good. We just received the intel packet from Athena." Matt replied as Valerian turned towards him, resting his hand on his sheathed sword as usual.

"I thought the team sent to Athena didn't survive." Valerian said but Matt nodded.

"They didn't but the packet was recovered by an old friend. Ex-agent X41822N, sir." Matt said as Valerian smiled a little, looking wistfully out the window for a moment.

"Nova Terra. She continues to impress me. She is a wanted fugitive and yet she still continues to support the very Dominion that issued the warrant for her arrest." Valerian said, the Spectre shifting her feet slightly at the mention of the ex-Ghost. Valerian then looked back at Matt.

"What did the packet contain?" Valerian asked.

"Apparently our suspicions about the Angels of Tarsonis were correct. They're receiving funding from the same groups as the Defenders of Man. The same O.B.H. group." Matt said as Valerian turned towards him.

"And we still don't know who this O.B.H. group is, do we?" Valerian asked.

"No sir. None of the Defenders of Man personnel we have incarcerated from last year have said anything, nor have our psychic interrogators have been able to extract anything." Matt said as Valerian glanced at the Spectre who instantly stood at attention. He then looked away as he rubbed his chin in thought.

"And what is the latest reports on Nova's Nighthawks?" Valerian asked. Matt seemed hesitant to answer this one.

"Mira Han reports that Nova seems to be going after the Angels or at least looking into them." Matt replied as Valerian glanced towards the Spectre again.

"Let's keep an eye on the Nighthawks for now. We otherwise continue as before." Valerian said as Matt saluted.

"Yes, sir. One more thing, sir. I just received a report from the Magistrate at Mar Sara. They just received a number of refugees from Haven Colony. They say the Colony has been destroyed." Matt said as Valerian looked at him, visibly disturbed by the report.

"Lead with that next time, Admiral." He said as Matt lowered his head slightly.

"I apologize sir. I only just found out." Matt said as Valerian pondered.

"Haven…they're near Protoss space, aren't they?" Valerian asked.

"Yes sir but according to the survivors, it was the Zerg that destroyed the colony. Magistrate Hanson is believed to have been killed in the attack." Matt said as Valerian grimaced.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Admiral. I understand that she was an old friend of the Raiders back in the day. Sadly, it would seem that the planet is as good as purified then. The Protoss won't allow an infestation so close to their borders. Make no attempt to interfere." Valerian said as Matt gave a nod.

"Do you think Overqueen Zagara knows about this?" Matt asked but Valerian took a breath.

"Contact her and find out, but be diplomatic about it. The Zerg are still fractured to some extent. Zagara may have the loyalty of many of the different broods but there are some Queens and…other leaders…that refuse to join under her banner and there are still just as many feral broods out there. We need to be sure before we accuse them." Valerian said.

"We'll look into it at once. Shall I also make sure the refugees are looked after, sir?" Matt asked as Valerian smiled at him, reaching over and turning off the phonograph.

"I will see to that, Admiral. As Emperor, some things require a personal touch. You can, however, arrange for the Bucephalus and Alpha Squadron to be ready for deployment as soon as possible. I'll be traveling personally to Mar Sara to check up on the survivors." Valerian said as he started for the door, the Spectre following after him as Matt saluted.

"Yes sir." Matt replied as he fell in and followed the Emperor and his Spectre escort out of the office.

…

 **The Griffin – Med-Lab  
Sometime later…**

The Nighthawks had passed off the survivors from Haven to a Dominion Battlecruiser from Mar Sara and jumped to warp with one of the Hercules Transports close behind. The transport was full of ex-Haven Militia members that had joined up with the Nighthawks.

On the Griffin, Nova walked into the Med-Lab to speak with Morales. The Med-Lab, as Nova had stated, was state-of-the-art with advanced scanning and medical devices as well as a cabinet with a strong lock for various medicines and chemicals. In one corner near a door to the CMO's bunkroom, was a place where Morales's Medic Armor was propped up on its own. Morales herself had exited her armor and now wore an old black uniform coat with silver trim, matching trousers, and black military boots. She had short brown hair that was kept in a sort of bell-like style. The uniform was the one she had worn during her days in the UED. She was busily putting up a poster on one wall of a scantily clad Terran woman with bronzed skin, short brown hair, and wearing only a white bikini top and bottoms along with the boots, eyepiece, gauntlet and A-10 Grenade Launcher of the Terran Medic armor, grinning seductively at the camera. Nova looked at this poster curiously.

"Who's that?" Nova asked as Morales smirked at her over her shoulder.

"You don't see the resemblance?" Morales asked. Nova quickly noticed that Morales and the girl in the poster were one and the same.

"Not bad." Nova complimented as Morales chuckled.

"Thanks. A little leftover from my wild internship in Medical School on Earth. Needed money for books and the modeling gig was a nice paycheck. UED used it as a recruiting poster for the Directorate Medical Corps. I find having this poster up makes hernia checks a little more interesting and makes the male patients more cooperative. But that's old news. You said you wanted to see me?" Morales asked as Nova gave a nod.

"I did. I wanted to go over a few things. Have you gotten a response from the Overmedics and Spartan Company?" Nova asked.

"The Overmedics are onboard and just need rendezvous coordinates to link up with us. They'll bring the medivacs over as soon as we can field a starport. Spartan Company are a little harder sell. I think Graven's doing some sweet talking with them right now. I can already tell you that they're going to need us to be able to field a factory before they join us. They rely on the parts manufactured in the factories of their employers to keep operating." Morales reported.

"Graven's not come through with an engineer for us. As soon as we can get one, we'll be able to field our factories and hire the Spartan Company. About Haven though, is there anything about the virus that you can tell us?" Nova asked as Morales motioned to a nearby computer console.

"During the attack, we had an incident at our south gate. There were several infected civilians that were trying to get in. I was still scanning them when they started to mutate and my scanner recorded their transformation. I'm reviewing the information right now but it's simply insidious. A few years ago, the concept of using the Zerg against civilians using Psi-Emitters was believed to be the most unspeakable human atrocity against other humans since the holocaust on Earth. Well, this just took first place in my book." Morales said as Nova nodded in agreement.

"Be thorough, Doctor. If you can find a cure for this or some way to prevent the infestation from occurring, then let us know, but there's something else I need you to do first." Nova said as Morales looked at her curiously.

"What is it?" she asked. Nova took an apprehensive breath before walking to the door and locking it, turning back to the Lieutenant.

"I need you to give me a physical with emphasis on the brain." Nova said as Morales arched an eyebrow.

"Well this is a twist. Only one of my prior C.O.s ever came to me to get a physical without my having to send security after them. But be honest with me, is it really a physical you need or a brain scan?" Morales asked as Nova glanced away.

"Doctor patient confidentiality?" Nova asked, Morales physically crossing her heart.

"On my life." Morales replied with a serious expression. Nova sighed and sat down on a stool near one of the counters.

"I'm afraid I might have suffered some kind of brain damage. Last year I used a device to restore memories of mine that had been hidden via a mind wipe. To do so, I used controlled doses of Terrazine. I hadn't felt any adverse effects until just recently." Nova said as Morales picked up a piece of headgear that was connected at the top to a computer.

"What sort of effects have you been experiencing?" Morales asked, calibrating the device.

"I can't read the minds of specific people and…and I'm having visions or hallucinations of a person I vividly remember killing over four years ago. And I'm talking very real hallucinations, like feeling their breath on my skin kind of hallucinations." Nova explained as Morales placed the device on Nova's head, the ex-Ghost not resisting it at all.

"That's unusual. I know Terrazine has hallucinogenic effects. How long have you used it?" Morales asked.

"Only a few times within a short window last year. I haven't touched it since." Nova replied as Morales stepped over to the computer.

"Hmm, it shouldn't have caused anything like that. Oh, just for the calibration, what's your Psi-index?" Morales asked.

"Ten." Nova replied as Morales laughed.

"No seriously." She said but Nova glared at her.

"I am serious. Don't believe me? Check the medical files. You're the CMO, you have access to them." Nova replied as Morales looked up the file and her eyes widened.

"Ho~ly…I've never seen a Terran with a Psi-Index of ten. I knew Kerrigan was an eleven plus but I thought that was because of the Zerg infestation." Morales said as Nova shrugged, irritated by the mention of the ex-Queen of Blades.

"Kerrigan was a ten too. That's why the Zerg took an interest in her. But back to me, doc?" Nova asked as Morales nodded, entering information into the computer, the scanner on Nova's head starting up. Nova winced a little as she felt the scanner activating, causing a light tingling in her brain.

"So far, your brain looks healthy. I'm not seeing any abnormalities, mutations, scarring…everything appears clean." Morales said as Nova shivered slightly.

"That's not reassuring, Lieutenant." Nova muttered as Morales removed the scanner.

"Which means it could be psychological. Does anyone else know about this?" Morales asked as Nova nodded.

"Reigel does. I've already given him the orders that, if it looks like I'm losing it, to put me down." Nova said as Morales gave a nod.

"Good call. But I wonder if, perhaps, there's another possibility. What if you're perceiving things that other psionics can't?" Morales asked as Nova shrugged.

"It's possible. I'm the only one onboard with any real level of psionic ability. Or there's a third possibility. I'm being influenced by another psionic." Nova said as Morales seemed contemplative.

"It's possible. But given how Ghosts are trained to resist such attacks, it would seem strange for a PI Ten to fall under an attack like that." Morales said as Nova looked up, a suspicious look on her face.

"Hmm, I wonder…" she said, standing up and heading for the door. She paused at the door though.

"Remember, not a word of this." Nova said as Morales saluted.

"On my life." Morales replied as Nova headed out the door.

…

Nova headed straight for Reigel's lab, walking in to find her Second-in-command at a console. He looked up at her curiously as she entered.

"Nova, what's wrong?" he asked as Nova closed the door.

"Ace's psi-index test. Did you run it?" she asked as Reigel nodded.

"I did. It's right here." Reigel said, pulling it up and backing away from the console. Nova quickly moved to look at the monitor but when she did her eyes widened in confusion.

"W-What? This can't be right. Are you sure?" Nova asked.

"Ran it twice. He has a psi-index of two. He's an ordinary human. No psionic abilities at all." He replied as Nova turned towards him.

"And you're sure he doesn't have any psi-screens attached to his armor?" she asked.

"None whatsoever." Reigel replied as Nova put a hand to her forehead.

"Then why can't I read his mind? Why can't I get even so much as a glimpse?" she whispered.

"Perhaps that is something to ask Ace himself." Reigel said as Nova sighed.

"That's not a conversation to be had. Most telepaths don't just walk up and say 'hey can I read your mind.' We just do it. I read yours all the time when you don't realize it…no offence." Nova said but Reigel chuckled.

"None taken. I seem to recall that we had a similar conversation a few months ago. You mentioned that you cannot help but hear the thoughts of others. You can focus it but not block it completely. For that you need a psi-screen. But Nova, this is something you should be concerned about. Being unable to read the mind of a specific individual, may be a bad sign." Reigel said as Nova took a deep breath.

"That's what I'm afraid of." She replied, heading for the door.

* * *

 **End Chapter 5**


	6. Primal

**The Griffin – Bridge  
Deep Space  
8:21 AM – Shipboard Time**

Nova, Reigel, Hana, Graven, Ace, and Morales were gathered on the bridge of the Griffin. The Griffin itself was landed on a small asteroid with a mineral deposit on it. The Nighthawk SCVs were busily mining out some of the minerals near their landing spot.

"Alright people we have work to do. We need to take the fight to the Angels of Tarsonis, but to do that, we need to be able to find them. Any suggestions people?" Nova asked.

"Don't suppose Tarsonis is an option, is it?" Morales asked.

"Dominion Special Ops swept the planet already but found nothing but a bunch of Feral Zerg Hives leftover from the Fall nine years ago. They found nothing to indicate the Angels were actually headquartered there." Ace replied.

"Actually, I think I might have a lead." Hana said from her station.

"What've you got, Corporal?" Nova asked.

"Remember that Science Vessel that appeared in orbit over Haven? The Malthael?" Hana asked.

"Yeah?" Nova replied. Ace furrowed his brow at the mention of the name, mouthing it.

"Well I found something a little fishy about its registry number. I traced it back and found out it was stolen from a Dominion Shipyard three months ago." Hana said as Nova crossed her arms over her chest.

"And how does that help us now?" Nova asked as Hana smirked.

"Because it helped me trace its sightings. You can change a ship's name but registry numbers are nearly impossible to change. Its last sightings were over Agria, Meinhoff, and Cavir…do those three planets sound familiar chief?" Hana asked as Nova smirked.

"The planets Mira mentioned. Good work, Corporal!" Nova said as Hana reclined in her seat, popping a small sphere of pink bubblegum into her mouth with smug satisfaction.

"And that's why I'm Gold League." she replied.

"There's another correlation between the Angels and those planets. Remember I mentioned those planets are Zerg infested? It's more than likely that the Angels acquired the Zerg DNA needed to create the virus they used on Haven." Reigel said as Nova pondered.

"When I interrogated the Marine on Haven, his memories recalled a planet with a forest, a Zerg Hive Cluster, and Terran structures that wasn't Haven. I believe he was remembering one of their bases." Nova said, turning to the console and pulling up a display of all three of the planets in question.

"So we're looking for a forest planet, once occupied by Terrans, and infested by the Zerg." Reigel said as the team gathered round.

"Well you can scratch off Meinhoff. It's a wasteland. Besides, the Zerg wouldn't survive there for long. The sun on that planet fries them alive. I was there when Raynor's Raiders purged the colony after it got infested." Morales said.

"And Cavir has never had any record of a Terran occupation. Agria would fit both the terrain and the occupation criteria." Ace added as Nova looked to Hana.

"Corporal, how long will it take us to get to Agria?" Nova asked.

"Couple hours tops." She replied.

"Set a course. We're going to see if the Angels have made it their save haven." Nova said as Hana gave a light salute.

"You got it." She replied. Nova then turned back to the group.

"This is going to be a stealth mission. Ace, ready the troops for a silent op." Nova said as Ace gave a nod.

"I will, but I think I have something that might be useful, or at least educational, in regards to the Angels." Ace said as Nova shrugged.

"Go ahead." She said as Ace reached into a compartment on his armor and pulled out a book decorated with what appeared to be the hilt of a highly ornate broadsword.

"This is a book used by a small religious group known as the Horadrim. The book itself is called the Book of Tyrael. It's one of two used by the Horadrim." Ace explained as he set the book down on the console.

"What's this have to do with anything?" Graven asked.

"Because it might give us some insight into the Angels. They used the term Horseman One to refer to the operation involving the Zerg Virus and Song mentioned the name of the Science Vessel used at Haven was named the Malthael. If I'm correct, they're using a mix of the Judeo-Christian and Horadric faiths for their naming conventions and terminology. Knowing what these terms are could help us predict their next move. For example, Nova mentioned that Horseman One refers to the First Horseman of the Apocalypse, which is the plague of pestilence." Ace explained as Morales looked at him curiously.

"I didn't know you were Horadric." Morales said but Ace shook his head.

"I'm agnostic actually. I did look into the Horadrim at one time, decided against it. But that's beside the point. The Malthael comes from the Horadric faith. Depending on the interpretation, Malthael is either the Archangel of Wisdom or the Archangel of Death. In this case it could be a mix of interpretations here." Ace explained as Nova gave a nod.

"This might prove useful Ace, good thinking." Nova said as Ace turned towards her.

"One more thing. Dominion Intel briefed Special Ops Officers on the Angels recently. We know they have at least one Battlecruiser: The Tyrael." Ace explained.

"I take it Tyrael is…Judeo-Christian?" Graven asked.

"Horadric. He's the Archangel of Justice and is believed to be the one who gave the Great Scholar of the Horadrim, Deckard Cain, knowledge of the Horadrim. That's what the story is for them. In this case, given the Angels' motives against the Dominion, their naming the Battlecruiser, the Tyrael, would seem appropriate if they think they're passing judgement on the Dominion." Ace said as Nova turned to him.

"Okay, so we know they have at least two ships. Any others?" Nova asked.

"Just one and we're not sure if it's even a ship or not. We only know of its existence because of a few intercepted communiques. They call it the Azrael." Ace explained.

"And what's he angel of?" Graven asked as Ace looked at him with a grim expression.

"Death." Ace replied, the bridge falling silent.

"Ten credits says it's a superweapon or a big ass battleship." Hana said from her station.

"I'll see some of that action." Morales commented.

"Ace, this information might prove invaluable. Keep us informed if you can." Nova said as Ace gave a nod.

"You got it." He replied.

"Alright, let's see if we can get the drop on the Angels. Set a course for Agria." Nova said as they started to disperse, Ace picking up the book and following after them.

…

 **Agria Colony – High Orbit  
Two Hours Later…**

The Griffin dropped out of warp in high orbit over the planet. Nova and Reigel were stood on the bridge as the Griffin cloaked, rendering them invisible to basic scanners and the naked eye. Nova was fully geared up with her rifle slung over her shoulder, a strap running from below the barrel to the bottom of the stock, allowing her to carry it on her shoulder more easily.

"What've we got down there Corporal?" Nova asked as Hana looked the scanners over.

"Just as expected. A lot of Zerg bio-signs but…that's strange." Hana said as Nova stepped over towards her, looking over her shoulder.

"What's going on?" Nova asked as Hana pointed to a live overhead feed of a Zerg Hive Cluster. The Cluster itself was in chaos with Zerg fighting against other strange looking Zerg that appeared to be encroaching upon the hive.

"They're fighting each other. But those Zerg look different. They are Zerg, the bioscanners are registering them as such, but they don't look like the normal Zerg profiles." Hana said as Nova furrowed her brow, sensing something with her psionics.

"Something's off. Are there any ships in range?" Nova asked as Hana checked the scanners.

"Yeah there is. I've got what looks like…a Zerg Leviathan but…this is weird, it looks…evolved." Hana said as Nova stepped back over towards the main console.

"Can you give us a visual?" she asked. Without a word, Hana forwarded a long-range visual feed of the Leviathan in question to the console. Unlike most Leviathans, it was green instead of purple, its carapace was thicker and had two large pincers dangling below it as well as a set of large yellow fanlike fins down its back.

"Take us in quietly, Hana. Try to avoid any Overseers or Spore Crawlers if you can." Nova said as they started for the surface.

…

 **Agria Colony – Nighthawk Landing Site  
7:22 PM – Local Time**

The Nighthawks had established a base on the surface of Agria, setting up in an abandoned spaceport. The Nighthawks had brought in the Barracks and Engineering Bay from Haven while the Factory and Starport was sent to a safe location under Graven's control for safekeeping until they could actually use the facilities. The base itself had only one entrance and it had been fortified with bunkers and a few makeshift barricades. The bunkers were fully staffed by marines, firebats, and marauders and they were already having to contend with a few stray Feral Zerg.

"Looks like the Zerg aren't coordinated." Ace commented as he looked through a set of binoculars, his helmet up as he, Nova, and Morales stood near the entrance, several Nighthawk troops gathering near the entrance. Nova was watching the Zerg through the scope of her rifle.

"I'm not sensing any kind of psionic presence to speak of. These Zerg are feral as I can tell from this distance. I'd need to get closer to be sure." Nova said as Morales approached.

"Song said that the unknown Zerg have completely consumed one hive and are moving on towards another. She said that she found some kind of a match for them in the database though. They seem similar to a brood of Zerg first encountered during the Battle of Korhal during the Second War." Morales said as Nova narrowed her eyes on the horizon.

"Then let's go see what we can find." Nova said as she started down the ramp towards the entrance, Ace signaling for their forces to move out. Nova then put a hand to her earpiece.

"Corporal, can you give us a location on these other Zerg?" Nova asked.

" _I'll guide you in, Chief. Follow the road south until you reach an old Terran base. It's where one of the Feral Hives are located. You'll reach these other Zerg first if you move fast enough."_ Song replied as Nova gave a nod.

"Right, come on! Let's go!" Nova yelled as they took off at a fast-march, hurrying down the road. It took them only a few minutes to put some distance between them and their base, the Nighthawks easily picking off a few stray Feral Zerg. As they ran, Nova began to notice something odd about the Feral Zerg.

"They're conflicted." Nova said, noticing a Zergling mindlessly scratching at a rock wall before it got shot and killed by Ace's rifle.

"Conflicted? They seem crazed to me. I've never seen Zerg acting this way before." Ace said as Nova gave a nod.

"That's what I mean. Their Hive Mind connection is in chaos. It's like they're being told two separate things but they just cannot handle the conflict." Nova said as they marched on.

"Who do you think it is?" Ace asked but Nova seemed unsure.

"I don't know. But I don't think this is where the Angels' base was located. I'm not recognizing any landmarks. We may have chosen the wrong location." Nova said as Ace sighed.

"Well, at least we'll have had the opportunity to stock up on-…hold!" Ace exclaimed as he signaled to halt, the Nighthawks coming to a stop.

"What is it?" Morales asked, Ace motioning to be quiet, his helmet visor closing shut as he raised his rifle.

"I saw something move in the dirt." He said softly before firing into the dirt but nothing happened.

"Congratulations, I think you just killed a June bug." Morales replied sardonically before suddenly there was a series of explosions in the dirt as a large number of strange looking Zerg, the Zerg hissing and roaring at the Terrans. The Nighthawks immediately opened fire, killing a few but the Zerg scattered or took defensive positions.

"Oh hell! We didn't intercept them, they intercepted us!" Ace exclaimed as Nova noticed something.

"They're not attacking! Hold fire!" Nova ordered, the Nighthawks stopping their attack. The Zerg noticed and continued their posturing. Nova cautiously walked towards them, the Zerg all watching her curiously. She tried to stretch out with her psionics towards what she surmised was a Zergling but it only hissed at her, flaring a pair of frills on its neck.

"Strange. They're resistant to psionics." Nova commented before they heard a faint rumbling sound approaching. She turned and saw something moving towards them in the ground, burrowing its way towards them. Nova stood ready, the Nighthawks standing by ready to defend her as the burrowing creature got closer before suddenly erupting from the ground. It was a tall and armored Zerg with a thick carapace, long prehensile tail reminiscent of a scorpion, a pair of mandables on its face, a chin of long grey fur, and at least four glowing yellow eyes. It had two pairs of arms but it looked like one of the larger arms had been torn off at the elbow while a smaller one had similarly been torn off at the bicep. The large Zerg stared at Nova with a slight growl.

"Strong essence. Feel need to speak." The Zerg said in broken English.

"What the hell?! They talk?!" Ace asked.

"What are you?" Nova asked, taken aback by the Zerg's ability to communicate.

"I am Dehaka, one who collects. I kill, take essence, evolve stronger." The Zerg said as Nova looked at him.

"Dehaka? What are you doing here? Are you part of the Swarm or are you Feral?" Nova asked but Dehaka hissed.

"We are not Swarm. We are not Feral. We are True Zerg. We hunt for essence. We evolve." Dehaka replied.

"True Zerg? Oh, primal. I get it. You're not bound by the hive mind. So then why bother speaking with us?" Nova asked.

"Terran has strong essence. Like Queen of Blades but not as strong. Strong but restrained. Terran arrived for reason. I think Terran senses essence for pack." Dehaka said as Nova seemed contemplative.

"Then maybe we can work together. We're looking for other Terrans on this planet. Have you found any?" Nova asked.

"Found no Terrans. Found Terran hives. Hives, empty. Only Liars remain." Dehaka explained as Nova grimaced.

"Dead end, great." Ace mumbled but Nova wasn't convinced.

"Wait, hold on, what do you mean Liars? Do you mean the Feral Zerg?" Nova asked but Dehaka scoffed.

"No Feral Zerg, only Liars. Liars act Feral, Liars still bound to Great Will." Dehaka explained.

"Great Will…wait, you don't mean the Overmind do you?" Nova asked, worried about his answer. Dehaka hissed and shook slightly.

"Great Will, dead. Difficult to say." Dehaka said as Nova realized Dehaka was having difficulty articulating his explanation.

"Take your time. You mean these 'Liars' you call them only act feral but really aren't?" she asked.

"Terran learn quickly." Dehaka said as Nova furrowed her brow suspiciously.

"Then…wait a minute, you mean that the hives across the sector aren't really feral?" Nova asked, alarmed by the revelation.

"Then someone is controlling these hives. Is it Zagara? Does she know what's going on?" Nova asked but Dehaka hissed in disgust.

"Overqueen not strong enough. Overqueen trying to control feral hives. False will, resisting. Only strongest will thrive, weak will be consumed. Dehaka seeks false will, strong essence to be consumed." Dehaka explained as Nova realized something.

"Dehaka, do you know what this False Will is planning?" Nova asked.

"False Will seeks vengeance. False Will serves stronger Essence. False Will calls self 'Last.'" Dehaka replied as Nova glanced at her troops, Ace and Morales along with the other soldiers keeping their weapons trained on the Primal Zerg as they eyed them carefully.

"How do you know this if you're not linked to the hive mind?" Nova asked as Dehaka licked his teeth.

"Knowledge in essence. Dehaka consume essence. Evolve in body, evolve in mind." Dehaka explained as Nova pondered.

"This information is useful. I suppose then we've gotten all we can from each other." Nova said but Dehaka hissed again.

"You have strong essence, Dehaka seeks essence." Dehaka said, eyeing her hungrily but Nova cocked her rifle, aiming it at him.

"Not gonna happen…but maybe we can reach a compromise." Nova said as Dehaka eyed her curiously.

"What is…compromise?" Dehaka asked.

"There's still a feral hive here, right? What if we helped you take it? The knowledge in the essence of these Feral Hives may be of use to us both. We can't read their essence but you can. What if we helped you and your pack take that hive? In exchange, you consume their essence and share whatever knowledge you gain with us. What do you say?" Nova asked as Dehaka glanced away, looking towards the hive in the distance before turning back towards her.

"Dehaka agrees. We fight, we collect essence, we evolve. Dehaka's Pack, Terran pack, we fight as one. We share knowledge." Dehaka said as Nova gave a nod.

"Alright then, let's roll." Nova said as Dehaka turned to his pack and let out a roar, the pack starting to follow after him as he stalked away towards the Hive. Nova quickly fell back to her troops.

"Uh, Commander did we just form an alliance with Zerg?" Ace asked as Nova gave a nod.

"We did. We came here thinking this was a place where the Angels were operating but I wonder if Dehaka hasn't stumbled onto something more serious. I could read his thoughts to some extent and what he's saying is true. These Feral Hives have only been acting Feral. There's something controlling them and Dehaka is on the hunt for them. If we help him, we may end up helping to eliminate a potential threat to the Dominion." Nova said as Morales looked at her curiously.

"I could hear your conversation. The Zerg mentioned a 'false will' that was once part of the 'great will' meaning the Overmind. I have a suspicion that I know what this False Will is but I'm gonna need more information. If the Zerg can get us that information, then I'm onboard." Morales said as Nova nodded in agreement.

"What about you, Captain? You okay with this?" Nova asked as Ace shrugged.

"Hell, this ain't the first time I've fought beside the Zerg. I remember the fighting on Korhal when the Queen of Blades and Raynor's Raiders teamed up to take down Arcturus. If I could handle partnering with the Swarm on that, I can handle partnering with a pack of Primal Zerg on this." Ace said as Nova looked over the rest of the Nighthawks. They were all stood at the ready, seemingly willing to charge into battle beside the Zerg.

"Then I guess it's time for some pest control." Nova said, cocking her rifle before turning and chasing after Dehaka, the rest of the Nighthawks following after her.

…

 **Agria Colony – Feral Zerg Hive  
A few minutes later…**

Gunfire and guttural roars filled the air as the combined forces of the Nighthawks and Dehaka's Pack tore into the Feral Zerg. The Feral Zerg were conflicted, scattered by the differing orders they were receiving from the powerful psionic beings attempting to control them, leaving them vulnerable. The Nighthawks were taking great care to avoid shooting or burning the Primal Zerg of Dehaka's Pack. As the Primals and Nighthawks tore through the defenses, Nova saw a Feral Ultralisk charging towards Dehaka.

"Dehaka! Incoming!" Nova yelled, firing at the approaching Ultralisk. Dehaka merely snarled and burrowed down as the Ultralisk approached. Once the ultralisk was nearly on top of him, Dehaka burst from the ground, leaping up and grabbing onto the Ultralisk's face, the massive Zerg starting to thrash its head around, trying to throw Dehaka off as the Primal Pack Leader started ripping into its face. Nova watched with a twinge of disgust yet quiet admiration as Dehaka proceeded to burrow into the ultralisk's face before bursting out the back with a roar, the ultralisk collapsing onto the ground. Dehaka's pack immediately swarmed its corpse, consuming it.

"Well, that's one way to do it." Nova muttered as they fought their way to the Hive itself, the Primal Zerg already snacking on the larval Zerg that congregated near the base of the Hive.

"Steady men! We've got 'em on the-HURGH!" Ace grunted as a Hydralisk spine pierced his armor near the chest, causing him to stagger back. He could feel the spine had pierced his side. He reached for the stim-pack injector on his suit but suddenly felt the pain easing off, a strange green mist around his armor. His suit's bioscanners registered the spine had been mysteriously broken up and ejected from the suit. Morales quickly appeared in front of him, shielding him with her riot shield while two large mechanical arms on her back pointed at Ace, firing a green beam of energy at him from each arm. Ace watched his readings return to normal.

"Thanks for the save, doc." Ace said as Morales smirked back at him.

"Hey, no one messes with my squad!" Morales replied as Ace raised his rifle and charged forward with the rest of his men. He saw the Hydralisk that had hit him had been pounced by a pair of Primal Zerglings and was being ripped apart and devoured. Dehaka himself as well as some of the larger and smarter Primals were leaping onto the hive itself, gorging on the mass of flesh, consuming the essence stored within. While Dehaka and his Pack feasted on the Hive, the rest of the Nighthawks hurried to eliminate whatever stragglers remained. The fight itself had been short, due in no small part to the Feral Zerg's confusion and the combined might of both the Primal Zerg and the Nighthawks.

Finally, the Zerg structures were largely consumed or were being consumed along with the Feral Zerg. The Nighthawks were falling back to regroup and take a headcount. They'd taken some injuries but no casualties thanks to Morales and her crew of medics. As Ace rallied the troops, Nova stood off to the side, quietly surveying the fallen Hive Cluster. The Creep beneath their feet was already starting to recede or dry up. Finally, Dehaka started to approach Nova, his torn lower arm starting to regenerate from the essence he had consumed. He was still chewing on something as he approached.

"Terran pack, strong. Make good allies. Dehaka's Pack, evolves stronger. Dehaka, grateful." Dehaka said in his broken English.

"Did the essence of these Zerg reveal anything useful?" Nova asked as Dehaka swallowed what he had been chewing.

"False Will not alone. False Will serves Other Will. Other Will, not Zerg." Dehaka explained as Nova looked contemplative.

"You mean whoever is controlling the Feral Zerg is being controlled by someone or something else? Something that isn't Zerg?" Nova asked as Dehaka picked his teeth with one of his claws.

"Terran wise." Dehaka said as Morales approached.

"Do you know what this 'false will' is, Dehaka?" Morales asked as Dehaka sniffed her and then let out a hiss.

"Essence weak. Terran not strong." Dehaka grumbled but Nova narrowed her eyes towards him.

"Can you still answer her question. We need to know what this 'false will' is so we know what to look for. We might be able to help you make sense of it." Nova said as Dehaka looked at Morales with quiet disdain before letting out what sounded like a sigh.

"False Will is unknown to Dehaka. Part of Great Will now dead. False Will calls self, Last. Strong mind, weak body." Dehaka explained as Nova and Morales exchanged curious looks.

"Could you describe its shape by any chance? What does it look like?" Morales asked as Dehaka scratched behind his left ear canal with his hind leg.

"False Will is large, bulbous, slow. Cannot fight, cannot move. Relies on brood for protection." Dehaka said as Nova quietly glimpsed into his mind, seeing the shapes he did. It was a large throbbing mound of tan colored flesh with large tendrils and veins sunken into the creep beneath it. Nova recognized it instantly and her eyes widened.

"It can't be." She muttered.

"Commander?" Morales asked as Nova looked at Dehaka.

"You've been invaluable Dehaka. Hopefully we will get the opportunity to work together again." Nova said.

"Queen of Hawks, strong like Queen of Blades. Strong but constrained. Strong essence. Good to follow you." Dehaka said but this caused Nova to pause curiously.

"Wait, what do you mean constrained?" she asked.

"Queen of Hawks, strong in essence but essence is…trapped. Cannot grow, cannot evolve. Dehaka…uncertain how to change." Dehaka replied as Nova looked thoughtful.

"You think I should become like Kerrigan is that it?" she asked, almost insulted by the thought.

"Primal essence unneeded. Dehaka uncertain how to change." Dehaka replied as Nova gave an understanding nod. His thoughts didn't help clarify things so that was a dead end.

"I see. I'll look into that. I thank you again for the help, Dehaka. You've been invaluable. If we find the 'False Will' we'll try and find you to let you know." Nova said as Dehaka licked his teeth hungrily.

"Dehaka appreciates. I look forward to feast." Dehaka said before turning away. Nova similarly turned away and started to follow after the Nighthawks as they fell back to the base, Morales straggling behind to wait for Nova. As Nova caught up to the Medic, the medic looked at her with consternation.

"The False Will he spoke of…is it what I think it is?" Morales asked as Nova gave a grim nod.

"Dehaka didn't come around until after Kerrigan had taken control of the Swarm and reshaped it into what it is now. He wouldn't know what it was which is why he had difficulty describing it. But as I looked inside his mind and saw the memories of the Zerg he'd consumed, I knew exactly what it was." Nova said as Morales took a breath.

"Here we thought the Angels were the main threat to the Dominion, but now it looks like the Zerg have a threat of its own to deal with." Morales said.

"I understand why the False Will calls itself the Last. It means it's the Last of its kind. The Last remnant of the Old Swarm…" Nova said as she looked at the corpse of a partially devoured Feral Zergling.

"…the last of the Cerebrates."

* * *

 **End Chapter 6**


	7. Nightmares

**The Griffin – Bridge  
Agria High Orbit  
3:22 PM – Shipboard Time**

The Nighthawks had packed up their base and departed, passing the Primal Leviathan as it moved in to collect Dehaka's Pack from the surface. On the bridge, the senior staff and Graven were gathered around the main console at the front. Morales had gotten out of her armor and was back into her old UED uniform.

"Okay, a quick Zergology 101. Prior to the ascension of the Queen of Blades over the Swarm during the Brood War in 2500, the Swarm was ruled over by the Overmind but the Overmind itself employed the use of large psionically charged slugs known as Cerebrates. The Cerebrates were essentially the Broodmothers of the Old Swarm except that the Cerebrates themselves were defenseless and relied on their own broods to protect them. If killed, the Overmind would resurrect them unless the Cerebrate was killed using Dark Templar energies, in which case, the Cerebrate was permanently killed." Nova explained as she motioned to the monitor displaying an archive image of a Cerebrate.

"Permadeath? Way too O.P. if you ask me." Hana commented from her station.

"After the Overmind's death, many Cerebrates merged together to form a new Overmind, the one temporarily enslaved by the UED during the Brood War, and eventually killed by both the Dark Templar and Kerrigan's Swarm. Kerrigan then assumed control of the Swarm and proceeded to slaughter the remaining Cerebrates. We thought they were extinct but as it would seem, Kerrigan missed one. It's been in hiding for almost a decade now, quietly controlling the Zerg Hives we assumed were Feral." Reigel explained.

"So we're relying on the word of a Primal Zerg to verify this information?" Ace asked, suspiciously.

"You saw the Ferals acting crazy. I looked into their minds during the battle and I could feel the presence of both the Overqueen, Zagara, and a presence similar to what Dehaka described, both fighting over control of the Ferals. Dehaka just helped clarify some of the information." Nova replied.

"You know, it makes sense. I've always wondered why there were so many Feral Hives when the Queen of Blades was supposed to be the new Overmind. I always wondered what was stopping her or the new Overqueen from taking control of them." Hana said from her station.

"Probably a combination of, they weren't needed and they had difficulty gaining control of these rogue hives. It's possible that the difficulty controlling them was attributed to Amon initially, but since his demise and Kerrigan's disappearance, the Overqueen's had the excuse that she's been consolidating her power." Reigel added as Nova's expression darkened.

"There's one other thing that worries me. Dehaka mentioned that the Cerebrate was being controlled by something else. If that's true, then what could possibly be strong enough to control a Cerebrate?" Nova asked in thought.

"My money's on the Angels. If the UED could enslave a Juvenal Overmind, then what says the Angels couldn't enslave a Cerebrate?" Morales asked.

"You might have something there, doc. Think about it. The Angels develop a means of weaponizing the Zerg infestation virus, they infest scores of Terrans and then use their puppet Cerebrate to control them. That way they create a panic within the Dominion and conquer entire planets while building their own army without losing a man. Then once they've completed their goal and overthrown the Dominion, they just order the Cerebrate to kill off its forces and then they kill it. They come off as heroes, kinda." Ace theorized.

"What's more, they're picking up where the Defenders of Man left off. Some of those Zerg Attacks during the Defenders of Man seemed too coordinated if you ask me, and they were all Feral Zerg attacks too. The Swarm had no involvement. The Defenders order the Cerebrate's broods to attack Dominion space, the Defenders roll in and wipe 'em out, the Defenders come off as heroes. Nova herself can vouch for their using similar tactics." Reigel said Nova grimaced in disgust.

"Diabolical. Which makes it all the more imperative that we stop the Angels before they have a chance to strike. Graven, I hope you've got an engineer for us." Nova said as Graven pushed his sunglasses up with a smirk.

"As a matter of fact, I think I do." He said, producing a tablet with the profile picture of a Terran woman with long brown hair kept in a pair of long braids with pink ribbons on the ends.

"Sgt. Alabama Kowalski, alias Sgt. Hammer, ex-Dominion Siege Tank Commander and Engineer turned freelance mercenary. One of the best damn Crucio Commanders in the sector and a top notch mechanic. She's willing to join up and bring your factories online once her current contract runs out. It's almost done as it is, all you have to do is pick her up." Graven said as Nova looked over the dossier.

"Looks good. Where can we find her?" Nova asked, handing back the dossier.

"She's currently on Braxis, helping some miners help themselves to some unclaimed mineral fields." Graven said as Nova turned to Hana.

"Corporal, set a course for Braxis." Nova ordered, Hana giving a salute.

"Aye-aye, Chief!" Hana replied as she started entering information into the console.

"Out of curiosity, what did this 'Sgt. Hammer' do to become ex-Dominion?" Reigel asked.

"Desertion, grand-theft-siege-tank, destruction of Dominion property, insubordination, disobeying a superior officer, and failure to properly salute a superior officer." Graven replied, casually.

"Ah that would probably be altering the salute by placing thumb on nose." Ace sniggered, Morales chuckling in amusement.

"Been there, done that, got the report filed on me for it." Morales replied as she headed for the door.

"Alright so once we have Hammer aboard, we'll need a CAG to manage our aerial forces." Nova said to Graven.

"I've already got someone in mind that I'm working on. If it works out, not only will you get a CAG, but also the air forces for them to lead. In the meantime, once we pick up Hammer, we have some mercs willing to come aboard with some armor. I've got assurances from Spartan Company thanks to Morales's influence, I'm inches from signing a deal with the Siege Breakers for you, and the Devil Dogs recommended you to some buddies of theirs, bunch known as the Junkers." Graven said as Ace chuckled.

"Those pyromaniacs? Heh-heh, that's gonna be fun." Ace said as Nova arched a curious eyebrow.

"I've not heard of the Junkers before." Nova said as Ace snickered.

"They're a bunch of ex-Prometheus Company Hellbats and Hellions with their own customized machines. They became fast friends with the Devil Dogs. They specialize in torch and run operations. Also known for being major competition with the War Pigs for being a bunch of barroom brawlers." Ace explained as Graven gave a nod.

"That's them. So it at least gets you Hellions, Hellbats, Siege Tanks, and Goliaths for the Nighthawks." Graven said as Nova looked at him suspiciously.

"And how much is this costing us?" Nova asked as Graven shot her a sly smirk.

"You let me worry about that for now. I have a feeling someone else will end up paying my fees and the fees of the people we're hiring. For now, you just focus on taking down the Angels." Graven said as he turned and headed for the door.

"We should focus on the Angels, Nova." Reigel said as Nova took a breath and giving a nod.

"Problem there is, we hit a dead end. Our lead turned out to be a false lead. We have no idea where the Angels are operating from." Nova said as Ace shrugged.

"I dunno, Nova. The place you described from that Angel's memory could've fit over a dozen different planets. We just picked the choice that fit the build given the intelligence we had. Easy mistake to make. We just need to narrow things down a bit." Ace said as Nova gave a nod, fighting off a yawn.

"Agreed. Some sleep might make things clearer too. I'll be in my bunk, catching some shut-eye. Let me know when we arrive at Braxis." Nova said as she headed for the door, leaving Ace, Reigel, and Hana on the bridge.

"Something's eating her." Ace muttered.

"I agree. She's…having some problems lately. These Angels are preying on her mind." Reigel said but Ace shook his head.

"It ain't the Angels. This is something else. I recognize the look. It's fear." Ace said, earning a curious look from Reigel.

"And how did you reach that conclusion, Captain?" Reigel asked as Ace sighed.

"I knew her a long time ago. She doesn't remember me thanks to the memory wipes, but I sure remember her. I know that look, sir. It's the same look her…" Ace said, his sentence dropping off as he lost himself in thought.

"Captain?" Reigel asked but Ace quietly started for the door.

…

 **The Griffin – Nova's Quarters  
An hour later…**

Nova was asleep in her bunk, lying peacefully in her sleeveless suit, her hair down, and goggles hanging up on the wall nearby. To grant her some peace and quiet, she'd activated a small psi-screen around her, giving her silence in her mind. But despite the silence, her dreams were still not granting her any peace…

In her dreams, Nova was in her Ghost uniform, sneaking through a set of regal looking corridors of a Terran structure. The surroundings seemed familiar to her but not entirely so. As she crept through the corridors, she could hear a piano echoing through the halls. She was armed with her C-20A Canister Rifle, and she knew her quarry was near as she approached a doorway to the left where the music was coming from. She rounded the corner, her rifle raised but froze at what she saw. The door opened into a desert wasteland far in the outskirts of the Dominion capital city of Augustgrad. Augustgrad was aglow with fire as Terran, Protoss, and Zerg vessels rained fire down on it from above. Nova could see the a torn Dominion banner fluttering to the ground in front of her, revealing the piano that had appeared with Tosh in the Brig was in front of her, still playing as if nothing were wrong, only she recognized the tune as the one Ace had playing through his suit, the Raindrop Prelude by Chopin.

But seated at the piano was Angel in her full robes, her back to Nova, playing the Brood War Aria over the distant explosions and sirens from the city. Nova raised her rifle at Angel with a snarl, ready to fire.

"Do you really think you have what it takes to pull it off as you are, Nova?" a woman's voice asked, causing Nova to freeze with both eyes wide open. The voice was familiar to her but she didn't know from where. Angel took her hands off the keys, the keys still moving as the piano continued to play. Angel then turned slowly towards her, revealing her mask was missing but in its place was a face that made Nova drop her rifle in shock…

It was Nova's face, smirking darkly back at her but as Nova stared in shock, Angel's eyes flashed briefly with a purple light, purple smoke briefly appearing from them. She then heard a thunder clap behind her and saw a flash of lightning, spinning around to see a field of slain Terrans, Zerg, and Protoss. The Terrans were both soldiers and civilians, including the young Emperor Valerian Mengsk, Admiral Horner, Reigel, Hana, Morales, Graven, Mira Han, everyone she'd known. Even amongst the slain Protoss were familiar individuals including Hierarch Artanis and Highlord Alarak. Even Zagara and Dehaka were among the slain Zerg. In the distance behind them, burning and smoldering was the Griffin, crashed into the ground, while in the sky above were the burning hulks of Terran Battlecruisers, Protoss Carriers and Motherships as well as the Spear of Adun, and the dead and dying hulks of Zerg Leviathans. Nova stepped back in horror at the sight.

"Queen of Hawks, strong in essence but essence is…trapped. Cannot grow, cannot evolve" Dehaka's lifeless body suddenly said, parroting one of his last words to Nova on Agria as Nova continued backing away.

"You can prevent this, Nova." Ace's voice said behind her. She spun around to see Ace, outside of his armor, dressed in an elegant suit, standing next to the piano, Angel having disappeared although the piano continued to play. Ace's face was nearly ten years younger, his hair much fuller and with a full goatee. His clothes indicated someone of great wealth and influence. Ace then turned towards her with a pleading look in his eyes.

"You must become more than a Ghost. You must become something far greater before it is too late." Ace said as Nova looked at him, confused.

"What do you mean? How can I become stronger than I already am?" she asked.

"You have to ask, mon?" Tosh's voice asked, prompting Nova to look to her left, seeing Tosh standing before her but in the sky behind him was the massive floating obelisk known as Ulnar, a radiant blue light shining from around it while a crisp golden light shone from within it.

"You mean, become a Spectre? But…that'd drive me insane!" Nova argued. Tosh let out a long sigh of frustration.

"De shadows of twilight be fallin', Nova. Only you can push t'em back. Follow in de footsteps of de Queen who came before you, oh Queen of Hawks." Tosh said as he looked down at something at her feet. Nova looked down and her eyes widened to see that the shadow she cast wasn't hers but was that of the Queen of Blades. She then heard a strange but violent swishing and swooshing sound that she knew all too well as a red light grew behind her. She spun around and looked up to see a towering red sphere of surging energy. Suddenly she saw a black shape appear in the sphere, a distinctly Protoss shape at that.

" _Power…OVERWHELMING!"_ the massive Dark Archon roared as it raised a hand while glaring at her with its golden glowing eyes. It then brought its hand down towards her.

"NO!" Nova cried out as she sat up in her bunk, breathing heavily as cold sweat coated her skin. She then heard a metal-on-metal knocking sound at the door and looked towards it, unable to tell who it was. She quickly reached over and turned off the psi-screen, suddenly starting to hear the thoughts of her crew around her once again. This sound caused her to let out a sigh of relief but the knocking continued.

"Nova? Are you alright in there or are you just asleep?" she could hear Ace ask from the other side. Nova wiped the sweat from her brow and sat up.

"I'm not decent!" she yelled back, almost shakily.

"And what's a guy hermetically sealed in a two-ton suit of metal armor going to do against a PI-Ten Psionic? I've seen it all before." He replied as Nova sighed and telekinetically reached out and unlocked the door. Ace quietly walked inside, having to duck and move in sideways as he did.

"I thought you said you weren't decent, Commander. Got my hopes up for a moment." Ace said with faux-disappointment. He was trying to lift the spirits of the clearly distraught Ghost. It wasn't working though.

"What is it, Ace?" she asked, running her hands over her face.

"We're due to touch down on Braxis in an hour. Landing zone's too small for the Griffin so we're taking Morales's medivac. We're having to wait for a snowstorm to pass before we can even think about approaching the landing area. We've got confirmation that Hammer's down there and waiting for us but the miners she's guarding are still at it. They're almost done though so it shouldn't be too much longer." Ace reported as Nova gave a quiet nod.

"Understood. Keep me updated." Nova said absently but Ace was giving her a worried look.

"You don't look so hot, Nova. Well, in the ill-health way, that is." Ace said as Nova looked at him for a moment.

"I thought you weren't interested in me." She said as Ace gave a shrug.

"Doesn't mean you aren't attractive, Nova. What's the matter? Bad dream?" he asked as Nova rubbed the back of her head.

"You could say that." She muttered as she started to put her hair back into its usual blonde ponytail.

"There any truth to the rumor that psionics have worse nightmares than the average human?" Ace asked as Nova shrugged.

"I wouldn't know. I've always been a psionic." Nova remarked as Ace chuckled a little before turning towards the door.

"I'll let you get ready." He said, starting to turn for the door.

"Ace, wait, I need to know something." Nova said as she stood up, Ace pausing and looking her way.

"What is it?" he asked.

"What were you before Tarsonis?" Nova asked as Ace let out a reluctant sigh.

"Well…let's just say that were we meeting around, say, eight years ago…you'd probably be putting a bullet in me." Ace said as Nova stared at him blankly.

"You have no idea how little that narrows it down." She commented as Ace let out a small chuckle.

"I suppose you're right. Then I guess you'll just have to take my word for it. From one Old Family man to another." Ace said as Nova's eyes widened in surprise.

"You were one of the Confederate Old Families. Emperor Mengsk had them all executed." Nova remarked as Ace looked at her.

"Believe me, Nova, they aren't all dead. You're still here while the person I used to be…well, he died on Tarsonis." Ace replied as he quietly exited her quarters, leaving Nova to herself, lost in thought.

…

 **The Tyrael – Angel's Quarters  
Unknown Location  
Meanwhile**

The Tyrael was the flagship of the Angels of Tarsonis, a Behemoth class Battlecruiser with a white livery and with the Angel insignia on the hull. Angel herself sat masked at the piano in her quarters, playing a soft piece on the piano, alone in her quarters. She was soon joined by the unnamed Admiral with a tablet under his arm.

"I have the report from our test on Haven. Preliminary results are very favorable. The infected turned at a faster rate than anticipated and our associate had complete control over them." The Admiral said over Angel's piano playing.

"Had?" Angel asked, turning her head towards him slightly.

"He lost control not long after the Malthael departed. He is unsure whether it was the Protoss reacting to the presence of a Zerg infestation or not. It seems he's having problems of his own." The Admiral said as Angel removed her hands from the keys, the piano still playing despite this as Angel rose to her feet.

"His problems are not our concern. Tell me more about the test. Does the Dominion suspect?" Angel asked as she moved to look out the windows of her quarters, her hands at her sides but the Admiral noticed her hand and fingers moving and bending in synch with the keys on the piano as if she were still playing them.

"Haven was under a self-imposed quarantine and the Dominion was aware of this. They were sending a science vessel to investigate on medical grounds beforehand but now they are sending a small fleet to investigate." The Admiral said as Angel looked at him.

"Why are they sending a fleet?" she asked, a tone of annoyance in her voice.

"It seems that the infestation was not one hundred percent. They established a quarantine safe-zone for their uninfected at an old second-war outpost. When the infestation began, they evacuated and fled to Mar Sara. The survivors apparently informed the Magistrate who then informed the Dominion. No official statements have been issued but it seems the Dominion is aware. The Emperor has personally gone to Mar Sara with his fleet to meet with the survivors." The Admiral reported as Angel turned towards him completely.

"There is something you're not telling me, Admiral." Angel said as the Admiral fearlessly looked at her.

"Our garrison hidden on Haven was attacked before the infestation began. A contingent of mercenaries with support of the local militia stumbled upon them. The garrison was wiped out but suit recordings caught a glimpse of the mercenaries responsible." The Admiral said as he approached her and held out the tablet. Angel looked at the tablet which displayed a slightly grainy image of a femininely built Terran Ghost in full mask staring at the camera. The image was taken from an angle that made it look like the camera was on the ground, facing up, the Ghost propping a foot near the camera with the C-20A canister rifle in hand.

"Have we identified who the mercenaries are?" Angel asked as the Admiral's gaze narrowed.

"Nova's Nighthawks, it would seem." The Admiral said. The piano suddenly hit a sour note and stopped, the Admiral glancing towards the piano for a moment before looking curiously back at Angel.

"This would be the second time that Nova's Nighthawks have interfered with our operations. Third if the Ghost that infiltrated our base on Deadman's Rock is the same as the one in this image." Angel said as the Admiral straightened his uniform.

"Our sources tell us that Nova's Nighthawks is led by an ex-Dominion Ghost. Word has it that she still maintains her loyalty to the Dominion in spite of being a wanted fugitive from them." The Admiral said as Angel looked towards the windows again, her expression unreadable due to her mask.

"November Annabella Terra…is that her name?" Angel asked, the Admiral looking at her suspiciously.

"We were only able to acquire the name Nova Terra. According to our research, she comes from one of the Confederacy's Old Families, one of the last survivors of those lineages if I am not mistaken. It seems Arcturus Mengsk did a good job snuffing them out, or at least the ones who refused to bend the knee." The Admiral said, Angel continuing to look out the windows.

"One of the last." She said softly before looking back at the Admiral.

"I think we need to deal with these Nighthawks. Have a chat with them perhaps. Order our forces throughout the sector to keep an eye out for these Nighthawks and to alert us as soon as they are sighted. In the meantime, we continue as before." Angel said as she started back towards the piano, sitting back down at it and starting to play the same piece she had before from the top.

"Very well. We will continue with the preparations for Horseman One. We are still on schedule to commence Phase I." the Admiral said as Angel gave a nod.

"See to it that we are ready." Angel ordered as the Admiral saluted and then started for the door. He paused as he neared the door, glancing her way slightly.

"That piece…I have heard it before." He said as Angel glanced his way.

"The Raindrop Prelude in D-Flat Major by Chopin." Angel replied as the Admiral gave a slight nod of understanding, recognizing the name of the song, and continuing out the door, leaving Angel alone in her quarters.

* * *

 **End Chapter 7**


	8. The Hammer

**Secret Mining Facility – Braxis  
1:01 PM – Local Time**

The mining facility on the surface of Braxis was small, located at the top of a small round mesa covered in ice with a single natural ramp leading down into a narrow icy ravine. The base itself had only a Command Center in the Orbital Command configuration, a Barracks without any addons, and a few supply depots but had four missile turrets and two sensor towers. The once rich and abundant mineral fields were nearly picked clean with only a couple clusters of minerals left and they were quickly being mined out by the freelance SCVs. There was a refinery though but there was a pipe running from the refinery over to a series of large tanks that were hastily being loaded onto a Hercules Dropship. The ramp leading into the base from the ravine was flanked by a pair of bunkers at the top but only a single customized red Crucio Siege Tank sat between them in its siege mode configuration. The Tank would occasionally fire at the ravine, seemingly hitting empty snow. Far in the distance at the opposite end of the ravine, one could see the top of an old Zerg lair poking up behind the ravine walls. As the tank fired on the ravine, a pair of War Pig Mercenary Marines on patrol paused to look at the tank.

"Mother mercy will I be glad when that stops." One of the marines muttered.

"Sometimes I wonder if Hammer falls asleep on the trigger on that thing." The other replied.

"Or…" a woman's voice said from nearby. The two marines turned and looked down to see a comparatively diminutive and stocky woman in a bulky green military issue polar jacket, a helmet on her head, goggles over her eyes, her long brown hair kept in a pair of long braids with pink ribbons on the ends, green camo pants with a tool belt, and black boots. She had a pair of tinted goggles on over her eyes to act as snow-shades. The woman was swirling an insulated mug of a hot but nameless beverage as she stood admiring the tank.

"…I could always just have it on remote auto-fire if anything bigger than my mama's Sunday meatloaf ever crawls within range. Ugh, I swear that meatloaf could've killed ol' Kerrigan by the smell alone if she ever caught a whiff." The woman commented, holding a small remote device up for them to see. The marines looked at each other before walking away from her, Kowalski smirking at them with a chuckle as they walked off.

"That's right ladies, move along and let the big girls have their fun." She chuckled as she pocketed the remote, walking towards the tank as its barrel swiveled and turned slightly whenever locking onto a target.

"And how's my little heartbreaker doin' this fine afternoon?" Kowalski asked the tank, putting a hand to her ear with a smirk. That smirk seemed to fade but only slightly.

"Mmm, needs some oil in those bearin's. Won't do no good while we're on this ice ball, but don't you worry sweetheart, our ticket out of the galaxy's freezer section won't be too far a comin'." Kowalski said as she rubbed her arm on part of the tank's cowlings, rubbing some scoring from the cannon's firing off with her sleeve. That's when she heard something on the winds, the sounds of roaring engines approaching. This caused her to smirk.

"Well, I do believe that would be said ticket now." She said as she turned back towards the base where she saw a medivac approaching for a landing. The missile turrets turned to track the vessel but didn't fire as it touched down, the turrets going back to their regular spinning as soon as the medivac was landed. Kowalski was sipping from her drink as Nova, Ace, and Morales disembarked, the former two approaching her while Morales stayed with her medivac. Nova was wearing a slightly more padded version of her usual hazardous environment suit to help combat the cold. She also had her Ghost visor down over her eyes to protect them from the glare off the snow.

"Sgt. Kowalski?" Nova asked as Hammer hopped up to sit on the cowling nearest them.

"Call me Sarge, Hammer, or Sergeant Hammer. Doesn't matter to me which of the three you call me. Kowalski works fine too. You must be the ex-Spook lookin' for an engineer." Kowalski replied as Nova gave a nod.

"Nova Terra of Nova's Nighthawks. This is Ace. We understand you're still under contract he-." Nova said before the tank suddenly fired, startling her and Ace slightly. Hammer just glanced at the tank with a smirk before looking back at them, amused by their reactions.

"Don't worry, pumpkin, she's just set to auto-fire whenever one of them creepy crawlies from the hive over yonder get too close. Installed the auto-firin' mechanism myself. But you were sayin' princess?" Kowalski asked.

"Graven said you were still under contract here." Nova said as Hammer took a sip of her drink.

"You got that right. Once those mineral fields are all mined up, my contract's fine-eat-o." Kowalski said. Nova could tell Hammer had deliberately mispronounced "finito" though.

"Had any Zerg trouble?" Ace asked, walking past to look across the ravine at the Zerg hive.

"Naw, nothin' my sweetheart here can't handle. Hive's feral anyway. Nothin' to worry about." Kowalski said as Ace and Nova exchanged worried looks.

"Any chance we could help speed the miners along? We'd like to get out of here as soon as possible." Nova said as Hammer looked at her curiously with a smile.

"What's the matter, princess? Don't like bugs? Well if you're callin' me in, you won't need to worry much, darlin'. This baby will pound 'em flat, then pound 'em again. And that's just me after a hearty meal and too much moonshine." Hammer said with a confident smirk as she pat her stomach. Ace couldn't help but let out a snort of amusement.

"Funny, I thought that was you after a little wining and dining." Ace commented, earning a challenging smirk from Hammer.

"Oh-ho, shots fired, shots fired." She remarked as Nova passed them, approaching the edge of the ramp and looking through the scope of her rifle. She could see a couple of older breed Overlords floating over the Lair, but the frozen ravine walls prevented seeing anything else.

"The Zerg are a concern to me, Sergeant. Simply put, there's no such thing anymore as a feral hive." Nova said, turning to walk back towards them.

"They ain't done nothin' 'cept send a few Zerglin's our way to get flattened by my baby here. None of 'em have ever gotten close enough for the marines to even fire their guns. 'Course they'd have to get through the minefield I put down first." Hammer said as she took another sip of her drink only to discover it was empty.

"Haven't you tried to take the hive out?" Ace asked.

"Well, see there's the thing. We ain't equipped for that. Trust me, we probably could take it with just my tank and the few marines we've got, but that ain't in the contracts we signed. Plus, we sent a scout out to take a look, but the poor sap got shredded by Lurkers in the ice. Ain't no tellin' where those varmints are hidin'. Besides, the hive ain't done nothin' of interest like I said." Hammer said just as the tank fired another round.

"Your Command Center's equipped for sensor sweeps, isn't it?" Nova asked, looking at the Command Center.

"Yeah, but tryin' to get the C.O. to use it is like convincin' my daddy that cold fusion ain't meant for keepin' the beer cool." Hammer said as Ace looked at her. Nova couldn't help but turn back to look at the Hive.

"It works though, doesn't it?" Ace argued as Hammer gave him a dismissive wave.

"Yeah but that's not what cold fusion's for. It's for blowin' stuff up! Right princess?" Hammer asked but Nova didn't reply, keeping her eyes on the Hive.

"Uh, Commander?" Ace asked worriedly at Nova's silence. Hammer took notice and quietly stood up, moving towards the top hatch of her tank.

"Something's not right." She said as she put her hand to her earpiece.

"Nova to Griffin, anything unusual going on?" Nova asked.

" _Nothing out of the ordinary. We're monitoring that Zerg Lair though. We're picking up something…unusual though. Are the miners mining anything specific?"_ Reigel asked as Nova looked towards the large refinery near the Command Center, looking at it suspiciously.

"I have a hunch. Standby." She replied before looking at Hammer.

"What exactly are they mining here, Hammer?" she asked as Hammer shrugged.

"Minerals mostly. The SCV pilots have been a bit quiet though, especially the ones workin' around the refinery." Hammer said as Nova closed her eyes, stretching out with her psionics towards the Refinery. She could hear the scattered thoughts of the techs and crews working in and around the facility but nothing stood out. She then shifted her focus towards the Command Center where she could hear the C.O.'s thoughts and that's when she got the major clue she needed, causing her eyes to open back up wide.

"Mother mercy." She said as she turned back towards the Zerg hive, raising her rifle and scanning it across the horizon, searching for something.

"Nova? What's the matter?" Ace asked as Nova took a breath, putting a hand to her earpiece.

"Nova to Griffin, stand by to make a break for it and have an emergency jump spun up and ready. It's the Vapor Protocol." Nova said as she steadied her breathing, still scanning the horizon.

"Oh holy hell." Ace muttered, cocking his rifle but Hammer was confused.

"Uh, you mind explainin' what this Vapor Protocol is?" Hammer asked.

"I have a feeling you're going to find out soon enough." Nova muttered before finally spotting what she was looking for. To the untrained eye, there was a specific spot on the horizon that appeared empty, but to Nova who knew what to look for, she saw everything she needed to. A strange distortion in the air, remaining perfectly stationary. Nova steadied her breathing again as she took aim and fired her rifle. The shot resulted in a small and distant explosion of red energy.

"What the hell just blew up?" Hammer asked as Nova lowered her rifle.

"We need to evacuate, now, before they arrive!" Nova said, clearly concerned by what she had shot down.

"Before who arri-." She said before they heard a strange wailing sound on the winds coming from the Zerg Lair. They looked to see the strange bolts of blue energy firing up at the Overlords, causing them to fall from the sky.

"Too late! Nova to Griffin! They're here!" Nova exclaimed into her earpiece.

"Who's here?!" Hammer asked before they heard a loud booming in the air, a large shadow suddenly blocking out the sun over the base. They all looked up and saw a sinister black and red metal monstrosity. Nova and Ace recognized it instantly.

"It's the Tal'darim, they're here." Nova said as they saw the Tal'darim carrier hovering in the sky overhead. The base sirens started blaring as the carrier started deploying its interceptors and a pair of War Prisms towards the base. The missile turrets immediately spun towards the approaching craft, firing at the interceptors and the War Prisms. The Carrier was out of range.

"We're bugging out! Come on, Hammer!" Nova ordered as Hammer hopped into her tank, disengaging its siege mode while Nova and Ace, along with the rest of the Marines, opened fire on the Tal'darim forces overhead. One of the War Pig Marines near the three made his way towards them.

"What the hell are the Protoss doing here?!" the marine asked.

"Talk to the C.O. of the base! They're the ones mining Terrazine!" Nova replied.

"Terra-what?" the marine asked, firing at an interceptor as it passed overhead. They were interrupted by a booming voice from the carrier.

" _Foolish Terrans! You have defiled this holy ground and seek to claim the Breath of Creation! Your transgressions will not go unpunished! In the name of the Highlord, you shall be exterminated!"_ the Carrier Captain boomed as the War Prisms flew beyond the range of the missile turrets, flying over the ravine and deploying the troops onboard into the ravine before reconfiguring into their stationary phase mode, beginning to warp in more Tal'darim troops.

"Nova to Griffin! We need some help down here!" Nova ordered.

" _Already on it!"_ Hana replied. They then heard the screaming of the Griffin's engines before the Griffin suddenly decloaked, firing its weapons at the Carrier, getting the attention of its Interceptors as it flew past. The War Pigs and SCVs were rushing to the Command Center and Barracks while the Hercules, loaded with Terrazine, began to lift off. As it started to fly low over the ravine though, the Tal'darim Slayers and Havocs started firing up at the transport, scoring a critical hit on its engines, sending the transport crashing into the top of the ravine, the Tal'darim quickly moving to surround the vessel, slaughtering any survivors of the crash.

"Come on Hammer we don't have all-!" Nova exclaimed but fell silent as she saw Hammer's tank rolling quickly towards her.

"Move aside, Princess! Comin' though!" Hammer yelled as she rolled towards Morales's Medivac. They could hear the explosions of Hammer's Spider Mines at the base of the ramp as the Tal'darim forces got within their detonation range but even that wasn't enough to stop their advance.

" _Nova, we're picking up more Tal'darim warp signatures! They're bringing in the Death Fleet!"_ Reigel reported.

"We're almost airborne!" Nova replied as she and Ace leapt aboard the medivac, a few War Pigs and an SCV from the mining camp having leapt aboard with them.

"Hold on back there!" Morales called as they started to lift off, the missile turrets still providing the needed AA support for them to lift off. As they fled the scene, they saw several Tal'darim Destroyers and Scouts flying in towards the base.

"Uh-oh! Incoming!" Morales exclaimed, hitting the boosters, the Medivac quickly flying between the approaching scouts while the Destroyers headed straight for the departing Terran structures. Two of the scouts turned to pursue them while the rest remained to escort their destroyers.

"We've got two bogies on our tail!" Morales exclaimed as the Scouts continued their pursuit. Nova hurried into the cockpit.

"Can we lose them?" Nova asked.

"I'm trying, but these are persistent bastards!" Morales replied before noticing a large canyon in the ice.

"I've got an idea!" Morales said as she started flying them into the canyon, the Scouts following after them.

"Nova to Griffin! We could use a hand here!" Nova said into her earpiece as they banked hard around a corner in the canyon but the Scouts weren't shaken off. They rounded a corner in the canyon and saw a large rock formation arching across the middle of the canyon, splitting it into two directions, one up and one down.

"This'll shake 'em! Hang on!" Morales exclaimed as she started flying for the lower passage. The Scouts both had to pick the upper direction as their wingspans were too wide for the lower, but Morales quickly reversed the thrusters, the medivac coming to a stop under the arch while the scouts rocketed past. Morales quickly pulled back, the medivac turning around and rocketing away in the opposite direction.

"That oughta buy us some time! Griffin, where's that evac?!" Morales asked. She then noticed something big appear on sensors behind them. It was the Griffin.

" _Right behind you! We'll do a scoop and scoot!"_ Song replied as the Griffin opened its forward cargo ramps, Morales lowering the landing gear.

"Hang on this may be rough!" Morales said as she slowed the medivac down, allowing the Griffin to overtake them, the medivac being swallowed into the Griffin's bay, touching down safely.

"We're onboard! Go!" Morales yelled into the radio as the Griffin closed its ramps. The Griffin quickly started gaining altitude, breaking for orbit despite being pursued by the two Tal'darim scouts and a pair of Tal'darim Phoenixes. They were still evading them as Nova, Ace, Morales, and Hammer emerged onto the bridge.

"Now would be a good time to get out of here, Corporal!" Nova said as the Griffin was rocked by an explosion, a near miss from one of the Scouts' antimatter missiles.

"All hands, emergency warp in five, four, three, two…!" Hana said just before the Griffin jumped to warp, emerging from it seconds later in an empty region of deep space, leaving Braxis behind to the Tal'darim.

"That…was close." Ace said as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"So what in the Sam Hill happened back there?" Hammer asked as she shrugged off her polar jacket, revealing a red tank-top and her dog tags underneath. She had a tattoo of her sergeant stripes on her shoulders in black.

"Terrazine. The stuff is a powerful gas that enhances the powers of psionics, sells for a hefty fee on the black market, and the Tal'darim revere it as being the breath of their god. Apparently, the miners found a cache of it and decided to try and mine it without the Tal'darim noticing. As you can see, it didn't exactly go unnoticed." Nova said as she pulled her visor up off of her eyes.

"How'd the Tal'darim find out though?" Morales asked.

"The Tal'darim have survey ships sneaking across the sector scanning for Terrazine traces. Their sensors are highly tuned and advanced so they can detect even miniscule traces from incredible distances. It's why the Dominion invented the Vapor Protocol, so they could scramble a fleet to protect any Terrazine sources within Dominion space because the Tal'darim always respond with heavy force when their access to Terrazine is put at risk." Nova explained as Reigel approached.

"And it's a good thing the Tal'darim were more interested in the Terrazine than us. We have a bit of a history with Highlord Alarak." Reigel commented as Nova gave a grim nod.

"He's probably filleting the hapless commander that let us get away even as we speak." Nova muttered.

"Well, either way, my contract's ended prematurely, so I'm free to pick up the contract with you. And from the looks of things, I think I might like it here." Hammer said, looking around the bridge with intrigue.

"The Griffin's a state of the art stealth frigate and light-carrier. We've managed to keep her flying for over a year without Dominion support. The engineering bay is waiting for you, Sergeant." Reigel said as Hammer cracked her knuckles, pulling out a mallet with a star on the side of the head.

"I gotta get my tank unloaded, but that can wait until I see what kind of setup you've got here. If the bridge gear is any indication, woo-eee, I'm gonna have some fu~un." Hammer said as Ace stepped up.

"I'll show you to the engineering bay." Ace said as Hammer smiled up at him.

"Well aren't you a nice fella? I warn ya, you made that joke on the surface, but put enough moonshine in me and I could probably peel you out of that armor with my teeth." Hammer said as Ace laughed.

"We have a 'no-distillery' policy so I'll be watching you." Ace remarked as they left the bridge, Morales following behind them, headed for the med-lab.

"Challenge accepted, pretty boy." Hammer replied as the door closed behind them.

"An…interesting addition to the crew." Reigel commented, mildly amused.

"Graven says she's the best mechanic available. You should see what she's done to her Crucio. She's good, Reigel." Nova said as Reigel gave a nod.

"I agree. Graven hasn't let us down yet in terms of crew replacements. Morales has done a remarkable job so far and given Hammer's record, I imagine she will do just fine as well." Reigel said as the door to the bridge opened, allowing Graven to enter.

"I love the sound of my ego being stroked." Graven commented as he walked in.

"Graven, I'm assuming you have a CAG for us?" Nova asked but Graven smiled at her.

"Working on it. He's taking some sweet talking, but I just wanted to let you know that with Hammer aboard, your armor divisions are signed and sealed. Spartan Company, the Siege Breakers, and the Junkers are all signed up." Graven said as Nova gave a grateful nod.

"Much appreciated, Graven. After that scrape with the Tal'darim on Braxis, I'm getting a little anxious to get the Nighthawks capable of meeting the enemy in the air instead of just on the ground." Nova said as Hana gave a nod.

"Yeah, and no offence, but the Griffin's not really meant for direct assaults. That run on the carrier wasn't exactly the smartest thing we could've done." Song commented from her station.

"I'm working on the CAG. Like I said earlier, if I can convince him, he'll bring a whole squadron of Wraiths, Banshees, Vikings, Liberators, Valkyries, and even a Science Vessel or two with him. I'm also in negotiations with the Jackson's Revenge but that's a little contingent on the CAG I have in mind." Reigel said as Nova nodded appreciatively.

"Keep on it Graven. If there's anything we need to do, let us know." Nova said but Graven merely smiled coyly at her.

"You let me worry about that. I've actually got a little something for you, a bonus if you will, something that might let you take the fight to the Angels for once." Graven said as Nova arched a curious eyebrow.

"Really? Let's hear it." Nova said as Graven produced a tablet from his satchel, handing it to her.

"Dominion Covert Ops team's recently tracked a stolen science vessel to the Shakuras system. Registry codes identified it as the Malthael." Graven explained as Nova looked the tablet over.

"Shakuras is an asteroid field now. The Protoss destroyed the planet during the End War to bleed Amon's forces. What could be out there now that would interest the Angels?" Reigel asked.

"More importantly, isn't Shakuras within Protoss space? Wouldn't they have jurisdiction?" Nova asked.

"The Protoss are still focusing on rebuilding on Aiur. They don't appear to be focusing on defending the borders of dead planets." Graven said as Nova looked at Reigel.

"This sounds risky, and I'm not too keen on making enemies of another faction of Protoss, but if the Angels are involved, we should take a look. It might help us put a stop to their plans to use that weaponized Infestation Virus." Nova said as she turned towards Hana.

"Set a course for Shakuras, Corporal." Nova ordered as Hana gave a quiet nod, entering the information into her console.

"I'll head back and keep on negotiating for that CAG. I'll keep you apprised." Graven said as he started back towards the door. Nova, Reigel, and Hana were all silent as Graven left before Nova finally broke the silence.

"I know what you're thinking, Reigel. I feel like a look." Nova said as Reigel took a breath.

"Lieutenant Morales informed me that, physically, you're in peak condition. She said nothing else but given our past conversations…what's wrong, Nova?" Reigel asked as Nova took a breath of apprehension, heading for the door.

"I wish I knew." She replied.

…

 **The Highlord's Hand – Highlord's Throne Room  
Braxis Orbit  
Not much later…**

Highlord Alarak stood near his throne on his flagship, the Highlord's Hand, a Tal'darim Super-mothership, looking out at a holographic projection of the planet's surface, the Death Fleet blockading the planet. As he watched the hologram, the door to his throne room opened, allowing one of his ascendants to enter, approaching the Highlord with a bow.

"What is it now, Tulrass?" Alarak asked, disinterested.

"Highlord, we have reclaimed the Breath of Creation from the Terran filth. Their facility is in ruins and the Feral Zerg have been slaughtered." The Ascendant replied. Alarak merely let out an amused chuckle as he turned towards his throne.

"Feral Zerg…indeed." He chuckled with a mocking tone as he sat down. Tulrass, still on one knee before the Highlord.

"Highlord, there was one…complication." Tulrass said as Alarak glared at him.

"You mean the Terran vessel that escaped? It is insignificant to us. Nothing more than a pest to be crushed under foot. Tell me something that might interest me." Alarak said dismissively.

"We identified the vessel. It belongs to the Terran known as Nova Terra." Tulrass reported, Alarak's gaze shifting sharply towards him.

"Nova Terra? Oh~h this does interest me, Tulrass. What was she doing here, I wonder?" Alarak asked, rapping his clawed fingers on the arm of his throne in thought.

"We interrogated some of the survivors before we executed them. It seems she was only there to retrieve one of her fellow Terrans. She did not appear to be after the Breath of Creation." Tulrass commented as Alarak sat forward in his throne.

"Whatever her intent, Tulrass, she is still to be punished for her betrayal. But I am not completely without mercy. I have…plans for her." Alarak said as Tulrass looked at him curiously.

"What is your will, Highlord?" Tulrass asked.

"For now, we wait. The Terran will find herself in a position of no escape eventually, and when she does, I will be waiting to strike." Alarak said, clinching his fist with a malicious chuckle.

* * *

 **End Chapter 8.**

Second Ascendant Tulrass is the only character I wholly own so far in the story.


	9. Shakuras

**The Griffin – Bridge  
Shakuras Asteroid Field  
6:01 PM – Shipboard Time**

The Griffin had dropped out of warp into the system and immediately cloaked, making its way through the thick debris field. On the bridge, Nova stood at the forward console with Reigel while Hana carefully piloted the ship through the asteroid field.

"So what are the odds that the Protoss detect us?" Hana asked curiously.

"Very high. You never know when those little observers of theirs are floating around. They may not have a physical presence here at the moment but they may come running if they detect us." Nova replied as Ace entered the bridge.

"Covert Teams are ready to go on a moment's notice, Commander." Ace reported as Nova gave a nod.

"Good. With any luck, we won't need them." Nova replied as they flew past the asteroids.

"Hard to believe this was a planet only a few years ago. How'd the Protoss destroy the place anyway?" Ace asked.

"Apparently they overloaded an ancient Xel'naga temple on the planet that ripped apart the planet from the inside." Reigel replied.

"Damn if they can destroy planets, it's a good thing we're not at war with them. I know they can glass 'em but not like this." Ace commented.

"It was an ancient temple, not a weapon. Xel'naga temples are extremely rare and even then they don't all possess the same abilities if any. This one just happened to be able to destroy the whole planet." Reigel replied as Hana's console started to beep.

"Commander we've got company." Hana said as Nova pulled up a display that showed what Song had on hers.

"Protoss?" Reigel asked.

"An Arbiter. Be careful. When one of those are around, they're never alone." Nova said as the display showed a Protoss Arbiter flying slowly through the asteroid field.

"I'm seeing the residual motion blurs of a few ships. Probably right about that fleet. Just can't get a good fix on their numbers or what ships they might have." Hana said as Nova furrowed her brow.

"There's something off about this." Nova muttered as Hana's console beeped again.

"Hang on, I'm picking up an exhaust trail. It's almost faded but I think it's…yes, it's Terran in origin. It's leading towards a large asteroid near the edge of the field." Hana said as she brought the Griffin away from the Protoss fleet towards the asteroid in question. The asteroid itself was several kilometers in size with several deep craters and crevices along its surface.

"Bring us in nice and easy, Corporal." Nova said as the Griffin started its approach, following the trail around to a side facing away from the bulk of the asteroid field. There they saw a large gaping hole leading inside the asteroid.

"Trail leads in there. Hope no one has claustrophobia." Hana said as Ace chuckled.

"If I did, then man would I be living one hell of a nightmare in this tin can." Ace said as the Griffin began to enter the tunnel, still cloaked as they quietly glided inside.

"Are you picking up anything, Corporal?" Reigel asked but Hana winced.

"Asteroid walls are messing up the sensors. I can barely make anything out." She grumbled but Nova spotted something in the cave.

"Maybe the sensors can't, but I'm looking at something very interesting." Nova said as she pointed to a series of large structures built into the back walls of the tunnel. The structures were large berths meant to hold Terran spacecraft but most of them were empty save for one which held a familiar Science Vessel.

"That science vessel's transponder matches the Malthael! That's the ship from Haven!" Hana said as Nova scowled at the ship.

"Are its sensors online?" Nova asked but Hana shook her head.

"Negative. It looks like its powered down for repairs. We're in the clear. I am detecting some Zerg and Protoss bio-signs within the facility though."

"Bring us in close, quietly, and prepare to deploy covert teams. Ace, standby to enter on my mark. I'm taking point." Nova said as she picked up her rifle.

"What's the plan?" Ace asked.

"I'm going in alone. I've done this sort of thing plenty of times before. I should only need you in case things go south." Nova said as Ace gave a nod.

"Do you know what you're looking for?" he asked as Nova shrugged.

"Anything that could help us unveil what their plans are. If things go south, I want the Nighthawks to make as much of a ruckus as possible so long as it attracts the Protoss. They won't like our intrusion but they certainly won't like this base here hidden under their very noses…or, well, you know what I mean." Nova said as Ace gave a nod, following after to the door but Nova suddenly paused and looked over her shoulder towards Corporal Song.

"Oh and Corporal, we could probably use your…other skills out there." Nova said as Song's eyes lit up excitedly.

"Really?! Alright!" she exclaimed, leaping from her seat and grabbing a pair of goggles hanging from a peg behind her, rushing for the door. She ran past Nova and Ace, Ace looking at Nova confused but Nova just smirked knowingly as she walked out the door.

…

 **Shakuras Angel Base  
Twenty minutes later…**

Nova was cloaked as she crept through the Angel facility. The facility was active and hadn't noticed the Nighthawks' arrival. Nova had finally managed to get out of the facility's forward engineering and maintenance bays where they kept a few squadrons of Wraiths and Valkyries to defend the facility if necessary. She finally got into the base's deeper recesses where the Base's Command Office, where the base Commander oversaw their operations. Nova took notice of the Commander, a man in an authoritative white naval uniform with Angel insignias, overlooking the office, looking at several screens before him. Nova noticed he had a pin on his uniform that had the symbol of the Defenders of Man in bronze. A quick glance at his thoughts confirmed that he was indeed a member of the Defenders of Man a year ago. He was then approached by a man in a lab coat.

"Commander, I have the results of the recent experiments. Unfortunately they aren't the results we were looking for." The man said as he handed over a tablet to the Commander.

"Command would prefer that the weapon activate faster but given that we at least have it at the working stage, they should be satisfied." The Commander said, signing off on the results with a stylus pen and handing the tablet back to the scientist.

"I only wish our prior test had been more successful." The scientist muttered.

"Haven wasn't the most optimal choice for the test given how rural it is and how spaced out the colony was. Really the only thing, I believe that influenced the results at all was how quickly the Magistrate put everything into lockdown. Dr. Hanson had experience with infectious diseases so she recognized the signs early on. She was, perhaps, the only influencer on the results. In cases like our prime targets, Horseman One will prove exceedingly effective." The Commander said as the scientist saluted.

"We will redouble our efforts to accelerate the rate of infection." The scientist said before leaving. Nova had overheard the conversation and quietly tapped into the Commander's mind, searching for where their first target would be but the Commander only knew a few details: urban, densely populated, Dominion. That was it. No names. Nova turned her attention towards the scientist, following after him. She privately knew she would have to kill him to at least slow down the Angel's production of Horseman One.

She followed the scientist through into a more sterile part of the facility where several labs, guarded by Angel Marines, were located. Nova made her way through and spotted some things which concerned her. There were several pins with various Zerg breeds inside of them. Only Zerglings or Drones while a few cells stored Infested Terrans. She couldn't tell if these infested were from Haven or had been infested on site. Regardless, she pressed on, following behind the scientist in silence as he approached a group of other scientists looking at a holographic display of a Protoss Zealot, complete with readouts.

"What did the Commander say?" one of the scientists asked.

"It seems Command is pleased to at least have a working system. As far as we know, the Dominion remains unaware of the fact that it was a bioweapon." The lead scientist replied.

"So we can Infest Terran with Horseman One. Any success with the Protoss?" another scientist asked.

"Protoss DNA renders them immune to Zerg Infestation. The closest thing we can do is create Hybrid but all of Mobius Foundation's records on their creation were destroyed along with Revanscar. It would take millennia to create another Hybrid." Yet another scientist replied. By now Nova had turned her attention away from the scientists and began moving away, searching the facility for something more damning on the Angels.

"Perhaps we should consider getting a fresh sample of Protoss DNA. It's not like we have any shortages of sources." One of the scientists said. This caused Nova to pause, turning towards them suspiciously.

"Gentlemen, need I remind you that the Protoss are not our concern at the moment." The lead scientist reminded them.

"I still think we should increase power to the psi-screens on their cells. Those Protoss are all highly psionic." One of the scientists commented.

"They're also unable to communicate over long distances. Ever since the End War, the Protoss severed themselves from their precious Khala. Now they are individuals and unable to share thoughts and emotions like they used to. They're as trapped here as the average human would be." The lead scientist replied. Nova quickly dove into his mind, searching for where the Protoss might be kept. Finally she found their location and took off, stealthily, down the halls. As she made her way down the halls, she passed a security checkpoint where a pair of off duty marines sat knocking back a couple of cold ones.

"So what's the story on Haven? We gonna use the new 'recruits' from there or what?" one of the marines asked.

"Not possible. Colony's empty now." The other said. This caused Nova to pause outside the door, listening in.

"Empty? You mean glassed right? By the Protoss?" the first asked.

"No I mean empty. We checked after the Malthael limped back in here. All of the infested are just gone as if they were never there. We even did subterranean scans. Nothing." The second replied. This perplexed Nova to some degree.

"Wait, what do you mean the Malthael limped back here?" the first asked.

"You saw the damage done to it when it got here. Buddy of mine was on the Malthael, said they got hit by…by a ghost ship." The second replied.

"Ghost ship?" the first asked.

"Yeah. Said an old Battlecruiser just appeared and attacked them. Malthael had no weapons so they had to run. Chased after them until they jumped to warp." The second replied.

"Could've been anyone's battlecruiser. Pirates use 'em a lot." The first said.

"Not this one apparently. This one had the whole crew so spooked over half of them volunteered for the resoc tanks." The second said as the first muttered a curse under his breath. Nova had heard enough and slipped past into the holding area. She could feel the effects of the Psi-screens inside the room as soon as she entered it. The room had two levels, the upper level where she was that ran the perimeter of the room and a lower level where the captured Protoss were kept in individual cells, their weapons all kept in crates in an adjacent room on the upper level. There were several marines patrolling the upper level while there were only a couple on the lower. The Protoss inside the cells mostly all wore the golden armor of the Daelaam while a couple wore the platinum armor of the Nerazim. Most were Zealots, and in the case of the Nerazim, Centurions. However, in the center, trapped within a stasis cell in the center was a single High Templar.

Nova immediately knew what she had to do and quietly made her way to a control room near the back. Once inside, she saw the controls for the psi-screen. She quietly pulled an EMP round from her belt, sticking it into a gap under the controls before falling back to the other side of the room before hitting a detonator on her gauntlet, causing the round to explode, the hum of the psi-screens groaning to a stop. The guards quickly turned towards the control room in alarm. The Protoss noticed this and started looking around, quickly beginning to psionically communicate with each other. Nova however, put two fingers to her head, reaching out to Reigel with her mind.

" _Reigel! Give the signal!"_ Nova ordered. On the Griffin's bridge, Reigel heard the command loud and clear in his mind. He quickly activated the Griffin's red alert.

"We have the signal! Captain Kunis, you have a go!" Reigel ordered. Down in the bay, Ace and a squad of Nighthawk Soldiers stood ready.

"Right! You heard the man! Nighthawks! Go! Go! Go!" Ace yelled as the bay doors opened, the soldiers running out into the facility, opening fire as soon as they stepped out of the Griffin's cloaking field. Ace watched them advance before hearing the heavy thumping of a mech behind him. He turned and saw Hana in her Goliath moving out of the bay.

"D'va moving out TACCOM!" Hana replied as her Goliath stormed its way to the front, Sgt. Hammer's tank following close behind. Ace quickly chased after the two on foot.

"Corporal, focus your fire on that science vessel! Let's make 'em pay for Haven!" Ace ordered as smirked at him.

"You got it!" she replied, flipping open the thumb covers on the control sticks as she turned the Goliath's head towards the Malthael, priming the walker's hellfire missiles.

"Nerf this!" she taunted with a grin as she fired a pair of missiles, the missiles smashing into the Malthael but only caused limited damage.

"Keep firing, Corporal! Keep firing until it's burning rubble! Sargent! We're to hold this position for as long as possible!" Ace yelled to Hammer in her tank.

"You wanna let me do my job, sweetheart? Just let me do my thing!" Hammer replied as she entered siege mode, firing a round straight at one of the upper levels of the base, causing incredible damage. The Angels were responding with force now as Angel Marines started hurrying to the front.

"Defensive formations! Hold this position! Let none of them through!" Ace yelled as they fired at the Angel forces. Back on the Griffin's bridge, Reigel sat at Hana's station, monitoring the battle.

"The battle is in full swing now, Morales. Any sign that the Protoss have noticed us?" Reigel asked into the comms. Sitting near the entrance to the cavern leading to the base, Morales sat at the controls of her Medivac, watching the Protoss Arbiter, which was nothing more than a shimmering speck in the distance.

"Not a thing and I've got the blinkers on and everything!" Morales replied.

" _Then contact them directly, do whatever it takes to draw them in closer. The Commander is relying on us!"_ Reigel ordered as Morales gave a salute.

"You got it." Morales replied as she closed the channel with Reigel and then opened it up on all channels.

"Hey! Protoss! I see you out there! We've got something you might be interested in!" Morales yelled into the communicator. She then waited a moment before one of her monitors flickered with blue square tiles for a moment before revealing a very cross looking Protoss.

" _Terran Vessel, you are within Nerazim Space! Leave immediately or be destroyed!"_ the Protoss ordered but Morales shook her head.

"Listen, I'm on your side, but the hidden Terran base we found here in the asteroid…yeah I don't think they're your friends." Morales said as the Protoss glared at her. She noticed the Arbiter in the distance starting to turn around towards her.

" _I am Danimoth, Arbiter in the service of Praetor Mojo and the Daelaam. You wish for us to believe that there is a Terran base hidden within these sacred ruins?"_ the Protoss asked. Morales merely crossed her arms over her chest.

"Then how about you come see for yourself?" she asked. Danimoth narrowed his gaze before cutting the transmission. Morales smirked with satisfaction for a moment before suddenly seeing something happening near Danimoth. She could see a number of golden lights appearing around it and quickly realized what it was. The Arbiter had disengaged its cloaking field, allowing the fleet of Protoss ships to appear before them. There were at least two carriers and untold numbers of scouts, phoenixes, warp prims, void rays, and even ships from the Nerazim and Purifier factions. A recall conduit suddenly opened behind Danimoth, bringing forth a Purifier Carrier and a squadron of scouts. Morales's eyes widened in alarm.

"I think we might've overdone it." She muttered as she grabbed the controls turning her medivac around and flying it back into the cavern.

Back in the holding cells, the base lights turned red as the Nighthawks started their attack.

"We're under attack! Keep the prisoners guarded! We can't let the-!" one of the Marine guards ordered before suddenly collapsing to the ground, a bullet hole in his visor. As the marines looked around, two more of them were shot dead by an unseen force.

"What the hell?!" another marine exclaimed as Nova suddenly decloaked, firing and shooting him in the head, making sure some of the Protoss below could see her. She quickly cloaked again before the other marines could line up their shots, their bullet spray hitting nothing but the walls.

"We've got a Ghost in here! Someone-…uh-oh." One of the Marines said as the stasis cell over the High Templar suddenly started letting off sparks as a few key spots on it were shot up and damaged. The unconscious Protoss inside started to stir before opening his eyes in confusion but then narrowed them in anger at the Terrans.

"Khassar de templari!" the Templar roared as it unleashed a psionic storm on the Marines before it, frying them all as it broke free of its cell, floating down onto the lower level. The cell doors then opened automatically, freeing the captured Protoss.

"Hey! Up here!" Nova called as she decloaked on the upper level, gaining the attention of the Protoss.

"You freed us, Terran. Why?" one of the Zealots asked as they looked up at her.

"Because I'm not one of the assholes who locked you all up. My ship is waiting for us and we've got more of your friends incoming to tear this place apart! If you want to leave, now's your chance!" Nova replied as the Protoss looked at each other and then ran for the edges of the lower level, using their robotically enhanced legs to easily leap to the second level while the High Templar merely levitated up to the second level, leaving the strange afterimages of himself behind. He immediately approached Nova, levitating before her.

"We are grateful for your actions, Terran. What is your name and whom do you serve?" the High Templar asked.

"Nova Terra, and technically, I serve myself." Nova replied as the Templar gave a nod of understanding.

"Our lives are in your hands, Nova Terra. Lead the way. En Taro Tassadar." The Templar said as the Zealots and Centurions retrieved their weapons, igniting their psi blades. Nova turned towards the door, raising her rifle and leading them out towards the front. As she ran through the halls, Protoss close behind, she put a hand to her head.

" _Reigel, I've got friendlies behind me! Do not engage the Protoss, repeat, do not engage any Protoss!"_ Nova said telepathically. She didn't get a reply but she didn't expect one anyway. She had to rely on faith that Reigel had gotten her message. They made their way into the labs where the scientists were scrambling to pack up and evacuate but they weren't expecting for their imprisoned Protoss to come barging in. Nova saw the lead scientist before her and immediately pointed at him.

"He's the one who had you all locked up." She said to the High Templar who scowled at him. The lead scientist looked at him in fear before suddenly being telekinetically lifted up and then electrocuted to death by a psi-blast from the High Templar. The other scientists started screaming as the Protoss charged into them, slaughtering them and their guards out of vengeance for their incarceration. Nova similarly opened fire on the scientists while the High Templar ripped them apart with his powerful psionics.

In the landing area, the Protoss were yet to arrive as Morales's medivac returned, docking with the Griffin. The Malthael was now a burning hulk of floating debris from Song's missile barrage and now had turned her attention to the Angel soldiers attempting to drive them back, the triple barreled guns on her Goliath ripping into the Angel troops while Hammer kept their forces back with her tank. Ace was near the front, fighting beside his men.

"Don't let up boys, make them pay for Haven!" Ace yelled. He then heard the sounds of engines firing up from nearby. He looked up and saw the hangar bays on the upper levels were deploying Wraiths and Vikings.

"Eyes-up marines! Bogies at twelve-o-clock!" Ace yelled as he started firing at the Angel airsupport, the Wraiths coming around to begin firing their lasers at the Nighthawks. turned her rockets on them, forcing them to evade but there were simply too many fighters approaching.

"Take cover!" Ace yelled as the Wraiths and Vikings approached. They were almost within firing range when bolts of blue energy and missiles leaving blue trails started hitting the Angel fighters. The Nighthawks all looked and saw the Protoss had finally arrived, their scouts, phoenixes, and corsairs flying in and engaging the Angel fighters, a dogfight quickly breaking out within the spacious cavern. Ace quickly turned to his men as they cheered the arrival of the Protoss.

"Stow the beers gentlemen! We're not out of the woods yet! Any sign of the Commander?" Ace yelled.

" _We're almost out, Ace! Hold the line! I've got friendlies with me, so check your fire!"_ Nova replied over the comms.

"You heard the lady! Watch your sights!" Ace ordered as the Nighthawks continued their assault on the Angels. As they fought, the doors into the facility suddenly exploded with blue energy as the High Templar hit it with a powerful psi-blast, Nova close by him. Ace could see through the group of Protoss and could see one of the Zealots skewering the Angel Commander on a psi-blade before being tossed away.

"There they are! Covering fire men!" Ace ordered as Nova and the Protoss came surging out of the facility. The Angels saw their escaping prisoners and attempted to gun them down. A couple Zealots fell to their fire before D'va stomped forward in her mech.

"Defense Matrix engaged!" D'va yelled, activating a device built into her Goliath that projected a hexagonal white cone that began firing small white beams of energy that intercepted the incoming bullet and grenade spray from the Angels. The High Templar then paused and unleashed a Psionic Storm on the Angel troops, frying them or forcing them into cover. The Templar then turned and continued to levitate towards the Griffin, pausing to pick up the psi-blade from a fallen Zealot before continuing on, Nova taking up a position near the boarding ramps.

"We're all here! Fall back! We're pulling out!" Nova ordered as the Nighthawks started falling back, retreating aboard the Griffin, the Griffin's guns firing on the Angel fighters as the boarding ramps closed.

"Reigel we're all aboard, let's go!" Nova yelled into her radio, hurrying towards the elevator with Ace and the High Templar. The Griffin started lifting off, turning and pulling away from the facility before rocketing towards the exit, dodging Protoss and Angel fighters as they flew. On the bridge, Nova, Ace, and the High Templar emerged from the hallway, as Reigel flew the Griffin.

"We're nearing the exit, but I'm detecting the Protoss have it blockaded!" Reigel said as the High Templar looked out the front.

"They will not fire upon us. I will make sure of it." The Templar said as the Griffin rounded a corner, where they could see the three carriers and the rest of the ships too large to enter the cavern sitting outside the entrance, squadrons of Interceptors swirling around them. The Griffin came to a stop as Danimoth appeared on the main console screen.

" _Halt, Terrans. Your presence is in violation of-."_ Danimoth said but the High Templar interrupted.

"En Taro Adun, brother. The Terran vessel before you is no enemy of the Daelaam. These Terrans have freed myself and my brethren from captivity. I ask mercy be shown upon them." The Templar said as Danimoth looked at him curiously.

" _J'tokoh Zohl, Templari. We shall spare the Terran vessel for now until the Praetor decides otherwise. What of this Terran base within the asteroid?"_ Danimoth asked but the Templar narrowed his eyes.

"They are the ones who held us against our will. Na Adan Atum." The Templar reported as Danimoth's eyes narrowed. In the meantime, Hana entered and relieved Reigel at her station, still wearing her Goliath goggles.

" _We shall bring the wrath of the Daelaam upon them. The Praetor wishes to speak to you and the Terrans directly. He will meet you aboard the Khalasanai. En Taro Tassadar."_ Danimoth replied as the Templar bowed slightly.

"En Taro Tassadar, Danimoth." The Templar replied before the feed cut out.

"Uh, which ship is that?" Hana asked as the Templar pointed to the Purifier carrier.

"That is the vessel. You will not be harmed." The Templar said as Hana started to guide the Griffin towards the carrier. The Templar then turned to Nova.

"I must see to my brethren. We shall speak further when we are before the Praetor." The Templar said as Nova gave a nod.

"Any chance of us leaving the system alive?" Nova asked as the Templar looked down at her.

"That, I cannot say, but I shall endeavor to defend you should the need arise." The Templar replied before he floated out of the bridge. Reigel, Nova, and Ace then approached the main console.

"Did you find anything that might help against the Angels?" Reigel asked but Nova sighed.

"Very little. Angel doesn't seem to trust her officers that much. I was only able to find out that they plan to hit an urban, well populated, Dominion planet with Horseman One. I couldn't pin down any specifics." Nova said as Ace groaned.

"That could be any number of planets, even Korhal itself could be a target given those parameters." Ace said as Nova gave a grim nod.

"They were also looking to try and revive the Hybrid program using the Protoss but they were lamenting that the research had been lost when the Protoss destroyed Revanscar during the End War. So it sounds like the Hybrid won't be an issue anymore." Nova said as Reigel pondered.

"We should still be cautious. The very mention of the Hybrid holds bad implications." Reigel replied.

"Anything else?" Ace asked as Nova gave a curious nod.

"We should consider returning to Haven. I heard some strange information from some of the guards. Apparently the infested Terrans on Haven disappeared and that some kind of ghost ship chased the Malthael off not long after the infestation." Nova said as Ace looked at her curiously.

"Ghost ship? You mean like a Moirai Battlecruiser?" Ace asked but Nova shrugged.

"Not sure. But it bears investigating." Nova said as she looked out the front to see the Griffin starting to pull alongside the Purifier Carrier.

"That's assuming the Protoss decide to let us go." Nova muttered.

* * *

 **End Chapter 9**

I am aware that I'm technically misspelling D'va's name but this is due to the fact that fanfiction dot net doesn't allow for periods to be used in names like this. It assumes it's trying to link to a website and thus automatically deletes what it thinks is the link. So to work around this, I'm using the apostrophe or omitting the punctuation mark altogether. Thank you for your patience and understanding.


	10. Mind Games

**The Khalasani  
Shakuras System  
8:01 PM – Terran Time**

Nova and Reigel had been warped aboard the Purifier Carrier and were being escorted through its halls by four Purifier Legionnaires. The carrier was busy with activity as Protoss from the Daelaam, Nerazim, and Purifier factions went about their business. Some would give the two Terrans curious or suspicious looks or would simply ignore them outright. The two were ushered into what appeared to be the Carrier's bridge. Waiting for them was the High Templar from the Angel Base along with Danimoth and another Legionnaire that was aesthetically different from the other Legionnaires, with less bulky armor and decoration. Floating near them was a Purifier Probe projecting a yellow hued hologram of a Purifier Colossae's "face."

"Praetor, this is the Terran that freed us from the Angels of Tarsonis." The Templar said as the Purifier looked at Nova.

"I see. You are to be commended for your actions, Terran. I am Mojo, Praetor of this fleet." The Purifier said with a deep mechanical voice as Nova gave a nod.

"I'm Nova Terra, this is my second-in-command, Reigel. It would seem we have a mutual foe." Nova said as Mojo gave a nod.

"Indeed, Nova Terra. These 'Angels' as your kind call them, have committed high crimes against the Protoss. I have been tasked with eliminating them from Protoss space by the orders of the Twilight Council. Our observers had detected their vessels near Shakuras and we were dispatched to find and eliminate them. You and your forces have proven beneficial towards our goal and were it not for Arbiter Danimoth and High Templar Jorrus, I would have ordered your destruction for trespassing. I see now that you were not in alignment with them. For that, you have my apologies." Mojo said as Nova looked to the Arbiter and the High Templar appreciatively.

"I assure you, Praetor, we are on the same side of the conflict. The Angels of Tarsonis mean to destroy the Terran Dominion with a Zerg Virus that they manufactured. We pursued the vessel responsible for first deploying this virus to this system and found the base that your men are now destroying." Nova said as the Praetor motioned his head as if expressing curiosity or skepticism.

"Your claim seems typical of you Terrans. Your history of barbaric practices against each other do not surprise me nor inspire me with confidence. To create and use a virus of the Zerg against your own kind is unexpected but not surprising." Mojo commented. The Colossus hologram then started making a series of sounds that were a mix of the Reaver and Colossae's unique forms of speech. The Protoss stopped to listen to the machine speak.

"Warbringer is correct, Praetor. We personally have had many positive encounters with the Terrans before. There are many similarities between Protoss and Terran, including acts of great compassion. Let us not forget that it was the Terran, James Raynor, who aided the Khalai in a time of great need after Aiur fell to the Zerg. Even your progenitor, the first Praetor Mojo, owed his life to a Terran during the great war." Danimoth said as Mojo seemed contemplative.

"Forgive me, old friend. My memories of such actions taken in my prior life rely heavily upon you and Warbringer. Regardless, Nova Terra, you were found trespassing within Protoss space. However, given your actions, I have seen fit to release you." Mojo said as Nova gave a nod.

"Much appreciated Praetor. The Angels of Tarsonis are no friend to the Dominion or the Protoss. They are essentially the same as the Defenders of Man, a mutual enemy that was eliminated last year." Nova explained.

"The Defenders of Man were enemies of the Tal'darim, not the Daelaam. The Defenders did not take any actions against us and we against them." Danimoth replied.

"The Angels picked up where the Defenders left off. They were planning to revive the Hybrid but they didn't know how." Nova said as the Protoss stared at her. She could feel one of them starting to search her mind and memories telepathically. Danimoth then looked to Mojo.

"Praetor, she speaks the truth. They had the intent to turn High Templar Jorrus and his brethren into Hybrid, but lacked the knowledge and ability to do so." Danimoth said as Jorrus gave a nod.

"My men and I will testify to this before the Council if asked, Praetor. These Angels would surely see us become slaves of Amon once again, were he still alive." Jorrus commented. Mojo gave a nod.

"We shall report this to the Council immediately. Know this, Nova Terra, you have been a friend of the Daelaam. Should you need aid of the Daelaam, inform them that Praetor Mojo calls you a friend. En Taro Adun, Nova Terra." Mojo said as Nova and Reigel both bowed to him.

"En Taro Adun, Praetor." Nova replied respectfully as Mojo looked to Jorrus.

"High Templar, please escort the Terrans to their vessel." Mojo said as Jorrus bowed.

"By your command, Praetor." Jorrus replied as the Legionnaires moved away, Jorrus moving to escort the two back to where they'd been warped aboard.

"I wasn't expecting this kind of response." Nova said as Jorrus looked at her, floating beside her.

"You have saved Protoss lives, Nova Terra. It is only proper that yours be spared in turn." Jorrus replied.

"I meant the whole 'friend of the Protoss' thing. After our past encounters with the Tal'darim, I would've thought we'd get harsher treatment." Nova said.

"The Tal'darim stand apart from the Daelaam. Actions taken for or against them, are rarely considered actions taken for or against the Daelaam." Jorrus said as they reached a smaller version of a Protoss Gateway, the three coming to a stop near it.

"That's actually a load off my mind. Kinda nice to know that there's someone out there not looking to have us either thrown in jail or killed." Nova said as Jorrus looked at her curiously.

"Nova Terra, might we speak psionically?" Jorrus asked as Nova looked up at him curiously.

"Alright. No offence Reigel." Nova said but Reigel merely smiled.

"None taken, Commander. I will wait for you on the Griffin." Reigel said as he stepped towards the gateway, one of the Probes monitoring the device teleporting him back to the Griffin.

" _What's up?"_ Nova asked Jorrus telepathically.

" _When we first met, I couldn't help but notice that you are very strong psionically for your kind. I almost mistook your presence as one of my fellow Protoss."_ Jorrus replied as Nova arched a curious eyebrow.

" _I'll take that as a compliment, I suppose. What about my psionics?"_ Nova asked.

" _I can tell that your psionic potential is great, and yet it seems confined or restrained."_ Jorrus said as Nova seemed contemplative.

" _You're the second alien to say something like that to me…no offence."_ Nova said but Jorrus didn't seem to notice.

" _I have been in the presence of the Queen of Blades, and your psionic power, were it not constrained, would almost parallel her power before she ascended to godhood. You should consider finding a way to remove this limitation."_ Jorrus said as Nova glanced away.

" _If I knew of a way that wouldn't destroy my sanity or turn me into a monster, I would."_ Nova replied. Jorrus gave a nod of understanding.

" _I understand your apprehension, Nova Terra. Even I have been faced with the possibility of becoming something more than what I am now on numerous occasions. I have been spared such a fate but should this fate befall me, I would go into it knowing that my actions were for the good of my people."_ Jorrus said as Nova looked at him curiously.

"Becoming an Archon is that scary a possibility?" she asked, vocally.

"It is the ultimate sacrifice for a Templar of any creed. Although the Templar participating in the merging would be given great honor for their sacrifice, it is still a sacrifice." Jorrus replied as Nova took a breath.

"I guess even Protoss fear their own abilities sometimes." Nova said as Jorrus gave a slight nod.

"Indeed. Adun Toridas, Nova Terra. And thank you once again." Jorrus said as Nova saluted.

"You too, Jorrus." Nova said before walking onto the gateway platform and being warped away back to the Griffin.

…

 **The Griffin – Bridge  
Shakuras System  
8:21 PM – Shipboard Time.**

The Griffin had departed the Protoss fleet, flying away from the asteroid base as the Protoss continued to purge the Angel base of its occupants. On the bridge, the senior staff were gathered for a debriefing, including Graven.

"Man it felt good to bring the fight to those bastards! Hope that puts a dent in their plans!" Ace said with a grin, clearly amped from both the excitement and a little bit from the stims he had used in battle.

"We're sure to have gotten their attention. Taking out that base will hurt their operations but it's highly unlikely that we've stopped them in their tracks. The facility didn't store the virus, but was where they were researching more potent forms of it. The threat posed to the Dominion still hasn't changed. We need to find out where they will strike next and cut them off at the pass." Nova said as Reigel looked to Morales.

"Lieutenant, you have the most experience with the virus. Is there anything you can tell us that might help us predict where the Angels might hit next?" Reigel asked as Morales shrugged.

"Hard to say. I arrived on Haven after the virus had already warranted a quarantine. But Ariel forwarded all of her notes and files on her own research into the virus to me prior to your arrival. I know what symptoms to look for, so maybe we might be able to predict where they'll strike next by searching for outbreaks of similar symptoms on Dominion worlds." Morales said but Hammer scratched her head.

"Uh, wouldn't that mean it's too late to stop 'em?" Hammer asked.

"Oh, right, you weren't with us when Haven got hit." Ace muttered.

"Lieutenant, I think a quick recap would not go amiss." Reigel said as Morales gave a nod.

"Sure. The virus acts in two stages: the transmission stage and then the infestation stage. The Transmission stage is its most deceptive form in that it disguises itself as an ordinary epidemic, spreading rapidly amongst the population as a simple virus. Causes sneezing, coughing, nausea, projectile vomiting, rashes, itching, etcetera. It's when the Angels introduce a second compound via an aerosol distribution method that the second stage activates. When that happens, it causes the virus to mutate into the common Zerg Infestation Virus, turning all of the people infected by the virus into Infested Terrans, subservient to a Cerebrate in service to the Angels of Tarsonis." Morales explained as Hammer cringed.

"Damn, and here I thought it was some kind of ordinary plague or somethin'. But hold on, how come a Zerg Cerebrate is willin' to work with Terrans? How's that work?" Hammer asked.

"Actually it's been done before. Nine years ago, a criminal named Alan Schezar found a way to control a Zerg Cerebrate and its brood. In the end the Cerebrate and Schezar were killed but it did alert the Dominion to the fact that the Zerg could be controlled. It's probably one of the reasons which led Kerrigan to kill off all of the remaining Cerebrates after the Brood War. The Brood Queens have proven far less susceptible to the same control methods as the Cerebrates were." Ace explained as Nova nodded in agreement.

"So the Angels infect a planet, infest the population, seize control of them using the Cerebrate, and then boom, they have themselves an unholy army of Terran and Zerg." Nova said as Hammer looked to Morales.

"Are we sure it ain't those UED punks again? I mean this sounds an awful lot like the stunt they pulled with the Brood War." Hammer said as Morales rolled her eyes.

"I would know if it was them. They would've called up any of the survivors from the expeditionary fleet. I'm one of them, remember. None of my old UED contacts have heard a peep since the fleet was destroyed." Morales said as several eyes fell on her.

"Hypothetically speaking doc, and no disrespect intended, but if it were them, would you go along with them?" Ace asked. Morales didn't hesitate with her answer.

"No, I wouldn't. I wasn't totally onboard with the whole Overmind thing either. At least with that, we weren't deliberately turning other humans into Zerg. If the UED were behind this, I'd be in line to defect from them in a heartbeat." Morales replied.

"She has a point. And in all fairness, the UED only sent their pet Zerg after Dominion Military Targets, not civilian." Nova added.

"So we've dealt the Angels a black eye. Any ideas on how we can hit 'em in the gut?" Ace asked as Nova pondered.

"At the moment, no. But I would like to go back to Haven. There was some information that I got about the colony that seems strange that I need to verify." Nova said.

"Inadvisable. Latest Dominion fleet movements indicates that they've got a few Battlecruisers and two science vessels in the system. They would detect us with ease." Reigel commented as Nova looked contemplative for a moment.

"Alright we'll need to see if we can get a hold of their findings then. Graven, any chance that anything's crossed your desk on that?" Nova asked but Graven shook his head.

"Sorry. I've kept my ears open but I've gotten nothing. Dominion's keeping this pretty hush-hush." Graven replied.

"Dominion's trying to prevent a panic. Knowing the Emperor and Admiral Horner, they're not going to mess around. Hopefully we can eliminate the Angels before they have a chance to strike." Nova said before looking back at Graven.

"What's the latest on your search for a CAG?" Nova asked as Graven smiled.

"Mission accomplished. I've got the jackpot for you. A CAG that's bringing the Hel's Angels, Dusk Wings, and his own private squadrons of Wraiths, Liberators, Valkyries, and a Science Vessel with him." Graven said but Nova seemed apprehensive.

"Wait, you don't mean…" she said as Graven straightened his sunglasses.

"None other than Thomas 'Icebat' Kazansky, leader of the Blackthorne Squadron. The biggest and baddest Terran Starfighter Force-for-hire in the Sector." Graven said as Nova glanced away.

"That may not pan out like you might think, Graven." Nova commented, surprising even Reigel by her reaction.

"Captain Kazansky was a highly decorated pilot with the Dominion nine years ago. His exploits are legendary and his reputation is enviable even today. The Blackthornes' reputation is well warranted. We won't do any better than Kazanski, Nova." Reigel said but Nova still seemed apprehensive.

"Oh I know his record, Reigel. There's just one problem…I might've tried to kill him once before the second war." Nova said hesitantly.

"You tried to kill Sarah Kerrigan, Jim Raynor, and Matthew Horner a few times before too. Turned out alright for you those times." Ace commented but Nova shifted uncomfortably.

"It's a little more complicated this time." Nova said, a clear blush appearing in her cheeks. Hammer immediately caught on.

"Whoa, wait a minute, you don't have a thing for ol' Icebat do ya?" she asked but Nova glared at her.

"N-no but…we did…uh, how do I put this tactfully?" she asked. Morales immediately deduced it.

"You slept with him, didn't you?" Morales asked as Nova sighed.

"I was on deep-cover assignment, trying to get in close enough to assassinate him. Part of that included a little…drunken fraternization in his bunk." Nova muttered, embarrassed by the circumstances.

"And after coitus he found out about your status as a deep cover agent, didn't he?" Ace asked as Nova sighed, still blushing.

"Whoa-ho! I always knew you had it goin' on chief!" Hana commented with a coy grin from her station. Nova quietly ignored the Corporal's teasing.

"Mr. Hill, does Captain Kazansky know who it is he'd be working for?" Reigel asked, Graven giving a nod.

"He sure does. In fact, when I mentioned it would be for Nova's Nighthawks, that was the clincher to convincing him. All we gotta do now is meet with him in person to seal the deal." Graven said as Nova glared at him.

"Wait, what? Meet with him?" Nova asked.

"He's given me his assurances that he's interested in working with you on a professional basis. He just wants to meet you in person before signing on, and in his defense, he does this with all his clients. If you're afraid of a double-cross, I'm laying my reputation on the line that this is legit. Blackthorne Squadron's never welshed on a contract without good reason. If anything, they tend to be more like the Nighthawks than you'd think. Both ex-Dominion who got kicked out for doing the right thing, fighting for the little guy, pro-Dominion loyalties…practically made for each other." Graven said, prompting Song, Hammer, and Morales to let out a chorus of "Oo~oohs." This got them a death glare from Nova in response.

"What the hell are you, a bunch of teenagers?" Nova snapped at the three but the three merely kept their crap-eating grins plastered across their faces.

"Technically I am!" Hana replied cheekily, earning an audible growl from Nova.

"I was talking about Blackthorne versus Nighthawk anyway. I don't know what Icebat's got planned and if it's a double-cross, I'll do everything I can to make it up to you. You know my rep, Nova. I don't leave my clients wanting. Besides, I've got more to lose if this goes south than you do." Graven said as Nova sighed.

"Alright, fine. Send Song the coordinates and she'll set a course." Nova said as Graven gave a nod, pulling a tablet from his satchel, entering a few commands into it.

"Already on it." Graven said.

"So, then if that's the case, we're dismissed until we-…" Nova said but fell silent with a suspicious look on her face, something Reigel and Ace noticed.

"Commander?" Ace asked, worriedly. Hana's console suddenly started beeping an alarm.

"Uh, Commander we've got a ship decloaking dead ahead of us!" Hana reported as they all spun towards the front in time to see a Behemoth class Battlecruiser appear in a blue electronic fizzling. The Battlecruiser was adorned with a white livery and had the Angels of Tarsonis insignia on its hull.

"Evasive action! Hail the Protoss if they're within range!" Nova ordered as the Griffin went into red alert, Hana quickly moving the Griffin to avoid a collision with the massive Battlecruiser.

"Transponder codes register the vessel as the Tyrael! It's the Angel flagship!" Reigel reported as Nova scowled, sensing Angel's psionic presence aboard the ship. Hana's console started beeping again.

"They're charging weapons and shields! We've got an incoming transmission!" Hana reported as Nova glared at her for a moment before turning towards the main screen, the words "Incoming Transmission" flashing repeatedly on the screen. She hesitantly pressed the answer button, allowing the masked face of Angel to appear live from her quarters. Angel took an audible breath through her mask when she saw Nova, the very sound of it echoing with the same booming voice Nova had heard her speak with on Deadman's Rock.

" **At last, we meet face to face, little Ghost. I have found you."** Angel said in her deep and booming voice, causing Nova to wince and snarl in pain.

"We just shut down your operations here, Angel. Are you here to get payback?" Nova asked. Ace was looking at the screen with a look of shock on his face.

"No." he whispered to himself, closing his visor as Angel let out a demonic sounding laugh of contempt.

" **Shakuras was merely a setback. You cannot stop us from delivering judgement upon this sector. We needn't be adversaries, Ghost. You can always join us. You know better than we do that the Dominion is not worth saving, not after the atrocities committed by Arcturus Mengsk and his dynasty."** Angel boomed, Nova starting to breath heavily with pain at every word she uttered.

"I will stop you. You think Arcturus was bad? When the Dominion finds out that you're willing to turn innocent people into Infested Terrans, you'll be worse than he ever was!" Nova said but Angel laughed at her again, causing Nova to let out a moan of pain, putting her hands to her head.

" **You cannot stop me, November. You don't have the power to stop us."** Angel said as Nova looked at the monitor in surprise at the mention of her full first name.

" **Yes I know who you are, November Annabella Terra. I know who you were, where you come from, what you are, and what you could become…if you were to join us."** Angel said, Nova crumpling in pain, Graven quickly moving to help her to her feet, holding her up to the monitor personally. Hana then spotted something on the sensors. The Protoss had noticed the Tyrael's arrival and were scrambling to intercept.

"I don't have the power now, but one way or another, Angel, I will stop you, even if it destroys me in the process!" Nova said as Angel let out a snort of contempt. At this, Nova saw something behind Angel that made her eyes widen in shock and disbelief. Sitting in the background was the very same white grand piano with gold trim that she'd seen in her dreams and visions.

" **I look forward to seeing you try…November."** Angel said before beginning to laugh at her again, her laugh starting out as a menacing chuckle and gradually evolving into a cackle, the sound causing Nova to crumple on the floor, screaming in agony as she held her head with her hands.

"Stop! STOP! MAKE IT STOP!" Nova screamed before a gunshot rang out, the monitor exploding with a bullet hole in it. Nova was still mewling in Graven's arms as Ace holstered his sidearm, approaching Nova and opening a first-aid compartment on his armor, pulling out a pre-loaded syringe with anesthetic and injecting her with it, putting the Commander to sleep within seconds.

"Corporal, get us to warp! Now!" Ace ordered. Hana, stunned by Ace's actions looked to Reigel who gave her a nod. Hana quickly turned back to her controls and took the Griffin into warp space for a few seconds before dropping out in a completely empty section of space, giving them some breathing room. Ace quietly picked the unconscious Ghost up in his arms, carrying her bridal style towards the back of the bridge.

"Doc, you've got a patient to see to." Ace said as he passed a stunned Morales.

"R-right." Morales said, turning and starting to run ahead of them to prep her lab. Reigel then looked to Hammer.

"Sergeant, I want a damage report as soon as possible." Reigel said, Hammer giving a nod.

"I'll have it in your hands faster than you can blink!" Hammer replied, hurrying towards the door. Graven was dusting himself off as Reigel approached.

"Mr. Hill, I'd like to check something." Reigel said as Graven looked at him curiously.

"What is it?" he asked. Reigel quietly reached up and looked at the inside collar of his jacket, looking at a small black device near the collar. The sight of it caused Reigel to furrow his brow, looking wistfully towards the bridge doors.

"Corporal, maintain course for the Blackthorne Base." Reigel said as he started for the door.

"Aye sir. Oh, and Reigel, let the chief know I'm sorry about the teasing earlier." Hana said, visibly worried for Nova. Reigel looked at her understandingly.

"I will, Corporal. I'll also let her know that you wished her a full recovery." Reigel said, Hana nodding with an approving smile before turning back to her console.

* * *

 **End Chapter 10**

I own High Templar Jorrus.


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